Municipal Debt – Government Policy?

Observations on the Demarcation of Administrative and Governmental Actions in the Light of a Recent Court Case

Abstract

Governmental actions are traditionally excluded from administrative judicial review; therefore, it is crucial to define them as precisely as possible and to demarcate them from administrative actions. However, since the legislator did not define the normative concept of governmental actions, it can only be examined on a case-by-case basis whether a specific act constitutes a governmental or administrative activity, and in this way the distinction between the two can be clarified as much as possible.

The Curia examined this issue in a recent case, in connection with the government approval required for debt-generating transactions of local governments. The study – after reviewing the approaches in legal literature – examines the essential characteristics of governmental and administrative actions and the aspects of their distinction based on a detailed presentation and analysis of this court case.