The development of participatory democracy is an important factor in improving governance in the united territorial communities

Abstract

The article analyzes the problems that exist at the final stage of the decentralization reform, which, in particular, are related to the need, firstly, to stimulate the process of consolidation of territorial communities through the possible application of appropriate administrative methods, and, second, to eliminate competition between executive authorities and local authorities self-government in solving local development issues; thirdly, the application in municipal practice of such a management scheme that would ensure conditions for the participation of all members of the community in solving issues that are covered by the legislation to the sphere of local self-government. The purpose of the article is to highlight some of the issues that need to be addressed at the final stage of decentralization reform and to formulate a recommendation on improving the mechanisms of municipal governance in OTG using participative democracy tools. The authors separately stop at highlighting the factors constraining the use of different forms of participatory democracy as important tools that ensure the participation of members of the united territorial communities in the mechanism of municipal governance. Attention is drawn to the need for organizational and legal support for the implementation of the requirements of the Additional Protocol to the European Charter of Local Self-Government on the right to participate in matters of local government in the process of functioning of the united territorial communities. Taking into account the experience of European countries, proposals are made to improve the system of local self-government, and the role of statutory law for the development of such a system is indicated. It is concluded that the decisive role in creating legal mechanisms for the provision of local partisipative democracy is, as it seems, statutory law - the statutes of territorial communities that are of particular importance for the OTG. Such assertion is due to the peculiarities of the territorial organization of the OTG, which usually includes a significant number of settlements, and sometimes also all of them within the limits of the corresponding area.

Keywords

• local self-government
• united territorial community
• participatory democracy
• local issues
• decentralization
• territorial community status