Municipal government and local government: concept, principles, laws

This article will cover the basics of municipal government and local government. We will analyze the terms, key features, principles and laws.

It is advisable to pay attention to the fact that the concepts of local self-government and municipal government are often confused at present. However, this approach is unlawful. That is why, for starters, we will touch on the issue of the difference between municipal government and local self-government.

What is the difference?

It should be noted that the question regarding the differences between these categories is very complex. The reason for this is different opinions on this matter. Consider the most common of them. The key to understanding can be found in the subjects of municipal government and local government. So, in the subjects of the latter it is advisable to include:

• The population of the municipality.
• Municipal structures.
• Municipal officials.

As for the subjects of municipal administration, the picture emerges as follows:

• Municipal structures.
• Municipal officials.

We conclude

The objects of the categories of municipal government and local government are the same. This is nothing but municipalities. So, because of the large number of management entities, it is advisable to make a conclusion: local leadership is a broader concept than municipal.

In addition, it should be noted that the key actor who exercises local self-government indirectly (through municipal structures, elected and other officials) and directly (in other words, elections, referenda, citizens rallies, etc.) is the population of the municipality.

Municipal management is carried out by the authorities of a particular place, as well as by individual officials.

What happens in a single subject

So, we examined the ratio of municipal government and local government. Further, it is advisable to parse the categories separately. Local government should be understood as one of the varieties of the legislatively established management of public affairs regarding the local community of citizens. In accordance with the Federal Law "On Local Self-Government", it is an independent activity of the population, which is associated with solving local issues. Such an action is organized based on the interests of society, its historical and other traditions of local importance. In addition, it is considered autonomous.

The issue of autonomy

It is worth noting that according to the Federal Law "On Local Self-Government" its autonomy is distinguished by a relative nature. Why so. The fact is that local government exists and functions in a system of relations of a general type and relations related to the management of the population within a certain state. Being a part of the whole, according to the principles of systems theory, under any circumstances, it will be subject to system-wide qualitative characteristics.

Another factor is that the legal principles in terms of the organization and subsequent activities of the local plan are established precisely by the state power, in particular, laws adopted by its bodies (the main one is Federal Law 131 “On the general principles of the organization of local self-government”).

In addition, the material basis of the category in question is largely dependent on the state. A significant proportion of the financial resources that are necessary for local governments comes from him.

Finally, elected leaders at the local level (that is, mayors, mayors, and so on) in foreign countries, as a rule, are approved as representatives of local authorities. Here they perform a number of national functions, and are also responsible for this directly to state structures. On the territory of the Russian Federation, this issue was resolved in a different way: some functions are transferred to local authorities solely with their consent, and for implementation they are also responsible precisely to the state.

So, local self-government is a power that is endowed not only with territorial limitations, but also with limited terms of reference. Its structures have the right to make decisions regarding local issues in accordance with the law. In a unitary state, this law is adopted by its parliament.

Principle Category

Under the principles of local self-government should be considered the conditions (requirements), which are provided for by federal laws. It is they who determine the roots of the local method, its role and place in the social system, the order and grounds for the formation, further activities of the structures described, as well as legal guarantees and mechanisms for the implementation of civil law on the ground. Consider the most significant principles.

Principles of Local Government

To date, it is customary to distinguish the following categories:

• The principle of independence within its authority. It is textured in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. This principle applies to the entire base of local self-government. It manifests itself as legal, economic, organizational and financial independence in terms of resolving issues at the local level.
• The combination of representative democracy with forms of direct realization of the will of people. The rule is expressed in the interdependence and organic connection of the implementation of local self-government by people through elections, referenda, and other forms of expression of will.
• The exclusion of the subordination of one municipality to another within the limits of its competence.
• The mandatory nature of the presence of a representative structure of local self-government in the formation of a municipal type or the exercise of its powers through a meeting (gathering) of citizens.

Additional principles

In accordance with Federal Law 131 “On the General Principles of the Organization of Local Self-Government”, among the additional principles, the following should be noted:

• Priority value of representative structures of local self-government in the general system of bodies. It is worth noting that their key role is primarily due to the fact that representative structures express the will of the community in general, give it universally binding features and exercise power on its behalf.
• Publicity of activities related to the implementation of local leadership.
• The maximum provision of public administration structures to municipalities at local level budgets.
• Guaranteed by the state of minimum social standards related to the satisfaction of key vital needs of society, the provision of which is under the jurisdiction of municipal formations.
• State guarantees and support for local governance.

Principle of subsidiarity

And finally, we consider the principle of subsidiarity, that is, cooperation and interaction of local self-government with government structures in terms of ensuring the life of society. It is based primarily on the unity of the source of management, functions, tasks and goals, on mutual responsibility related to the observance and protection of the freedoms and rights of the citizen and person, on the formation of conditions that ensure free development and a decent life for a person.

It is worth noting that in foreign countries the laws and rules of local leadership are not a frozen dogma. They are very mobile changing according to the development of the state and society. The development trends in other countries should be considered the interpenetration of principles and ideas from different models and theories of local governance, as well as the universalization of rules on the basis of international legal acts.

Municipal Management Category

In the process of considering the system of municipal government and local self-government, we move on to the next category. The first concept in various publications can be interpreted differently. In a scientific vein, the first kind is interpreted as an integral part of science that studies the concept in complex systems of a socio-economic type, and at the same time, as a component of municipal science relating to local self-government. We are talking about a comprehensive review, which includes the components of a number of economic, legal, sociological, demographic disciplines, marketing, effective management and several others. The similar nature of science regarding management reflects the multifaceted features of municipal activities themselves.

Guide Features

The lines of activity of bodies of local self-government and municipal government have their own characteristics. In the second case, the following are important:

• The presence of certain performance criteria. The main feature of municipal government is that if a municipality is nothing more than an organization that pursues non-profit (social) goals, then the maximum profit or budget income cannot be considered a criterion for the effectiveness of its work. In a business company, the level of wages is reflected in costs: the higher its level, the other factors being equal, the efficiency and profit of the enterprise will be lower. In a municipal formation, under the growth of population incomes, one of the most important management tasks should be understood.
• The role of the individual who is a participant in the process. Society in municipal government plays simultaneously three roles: goal, subject and management object. There is no such approach in any other kind of leadership activity.
• The local community should be understood as the main resource component of the municipal government, which is based on the desires, energy, needs, will, work, intelligence, and often the money resources of individuals. Therefore, at the municipal level, the adoption and further implementation of managerial decisions is implemented differently than at the state level.

Principles of Municipal Management

The Federal Law “On Municipal Service”, the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and the Federal Law “On General Principles of the Organization of Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation” enshrine the rules of local self-government, which are general in nature and inherent in both municipal government and the local government system of the subject as a whole. Based on the specifics of the category, its laws can be formulated as follows:

• Independence in resolving issues at the local level.
• Separation of local structures in the organizational plan in the public administration system and interaction with state authorities in the implementation of functions and tasks.
• Correspondence of financial and material resources to the powers of local government.
• The variety of forms of organization in terms of the implementation of municipal government.
• Responsibility of officials and local government directly to the population.

Additional Rules

In the process of considering the laws of municipal government and local self-government, it is advisable to note additional principles of the first category:

• Respect for the freedoms and rights of a citizen and a person.
• Legality in terms of organization and further activities of local government structures.
• Publicity of the activity of local organs.
• One-man management and collegiality in the work of local government structures.
• The guarantee of municipal government by the state.

Final part

So, we fully examined the categories of municipal government and local government, their principles and laws of functioning, as well as the main features. It is worth noting that only being guided by the whole complex of key principles that are indicated in the article can we fully ensure a rational approach to management. It is worth noting that it is in the unity of execution of all the rules and laws that one can ensure the achievement of high final results in the development of local structures and municipalities.