Module 5:
Public Participation in Local Governmental Decisionmaking

Purpose

Objectives

• the regulations governing the activities of Local Councils, Commissions and Local Administration;
• the process for creating Commissions of Local Councils;
• the processes for adopting local regulations;
• the process for holding municipal local referenda;
• the process for enacting the local budget;
• the process for enacting the general version of the Local Land-Use and other plans;
• opportunities for appealing decisions of the Local Council.

Contents: Public Participation in Local Decisionmaking

Introduction

Overview of Fundamental Powers of the Local Council Local Councils are given fundamental powers by the Local Government and Local Administration Law (LGLAL), published in State Journal No. 77/91 and amended in SG Nos. 24/95; 49/95 and 65/95. This act provides Local Councils with the opportunities to: enact internal regulations on activities of the Local Council, on activities of Commissions, and on activities of the Local Administration; create Commissions of the Local Council and elect their members; adopt local regulations on local issues; Of specific importance are the local regulations on: the environmental protection and the rational use of natural resources of local importance; the conditions for the activity of legal and physical persons on the territory the region, when these conditions are defined by the ecological peculiarities of the region. decide whether a local referendum will be held on an issue, that concerns the region; resolve problems linked with the treatment of solid waste; enact the local budget (including the budget for environmental issues; enact the general version of the Local Land-use Plan; enact other Local Development Plans. These powers alone provide quite important tools for influencing local environmental policy as well as the permitting process. Those interested in public participation at the local level must therefore be aware of and understand the areas where Local Councils have decisionmaking power or the ability to regulate different matters.

Box 5.1 Opportunities for Participation in Decisionmaking Process of the Local Councils Announcement of upcoming decisions (at discretion of Council) Asking for Environmental Information (EPL) and LC Regulations allow for access to information Participation in Commissions and Council meetings Participation through experts appointed to Commissions LC announces decisions to public and gives to Regional Governor within seven days Challenging of decisions: appeal to regional governor to determine legality with non-formal methods (petition, actions, etc) Post Decision Analysis (another opportunity to challenge decision)

5.1 Regulation of Activities of Local Councils, Commissions, and Local Administration 5.1.1 Regulation of the Activities of the Local Council The internal regulation on activities of Local Councils governs the activities of the Local Council. The public should know that the LGLAL provides both the Local Councellor with certain powers to obtain information and for interested parties to obtain information from the Local Councellor. This can help the public to better know the facts of certain cases, and to examine the work of Local Councellors. Of great significance and relevance in this respect are the texts of Article 33, Line 2, and Article 36, Page 2 of the LGLAL: Article 33, Line 2: "The state authorities, the economic organizations and organizations of the public must help the Local Councellor in his work and should submit to him the documents and data required in connection with the Councellor's tasks, except in instances when the requested data or documents are declared state or official secrets under the law." Article 36, Page 2: "The Local Councellor should: 1. (the first part of the text is not relevant here, and is therefore omitted) 2. Maintain contact with the electorate and inform the people of the activities and decisions of the Local Council." It is clear that interested parties should maintain as much contact as possible with Local Councellors, and, whenever possible, try to use their prerogatives to gain access and information to the decisionmaking process. For example, interested parties may: ask local candidates before, during, as well as after an election campaign to answer the question whether they will include rights of access to information and participation in the procedures of the activities of the Local Council; submit a petition to the Local Council for including such "procedural rights" in the Regulations of the Activities of the Local Council, even before the first session of the Local Council. This can be done with a parallel "lobbying" of some local councellors (using the media and other platforms) during the election and after the election period to assure the public's demands for inclusion of public participation clauses in the Regulations of the Activities of the Local Council are met. Interested parties can lobby for the adoption of more "democratic" rules of work of the local powers, i.e. openness of the procedure, having copies of protocols of discussions, having copies of preparatory documents, etc. The regulations on the Activity of the Commissions and the Local Administration can provide the same, or similar rules as those mentioned above in the Regulation on the Activity of the Local Council.

Box 5.2 Sample Questions for Local Councellors 1. Are there any criteria for defining the specific issues when the public would not be allowed to attend the sessions of the Local Council? The general rule provided in the law is that sessions of Local Councils are open. Local Councils can restrict and declare only some sessions closed. 2. How long before a Local Council session is the session agenda to be announced? Will the agendas for sessions addressing environmental issues be announced a minimum of two weeks to a month before a session? 3. Shall every issue have a reporter, who's duty it is to prepare a more detailed report on the matters discussed? 4. Will the public know the name of the reporter on the environmental issues that are going to be discussed in two weeks to a month prior to the session? Will the public be allowed to examine the report before the session? 5. Will the reporter be obligated to include citizens' opinions in the report and to provide explanation and answers to their questions? 6. Will the public, through a selected number of representatives, be allowed to take part in the discussions during the Council sessions? What are the conditions for such representation (i.e. only representatives of NGOs with more than 50 members, or signed petition of 30 or more citizens)? 7. Will the Council request extended public participation (i.e. beyond that prescribed in legal standards) on certain issues (such as in the enactment of the local budget, elaboration of the detailed land-use plans, etc.)? How will such participation be structured (i.e. through public hearings, interactive exhibitions, etc.)? Will there be time allocations? Who will be responsible for convening these public foras - Local Administration, Commissions of the Council, or the Council itself? 8. What are the Local Council's requirements for information requested by the public in Article 27/5 of the LGLAL? What will be the procedure for providing such information to the public about decisions made? Will there be any specific forum for Local Council communication with their community? 9. Will the public have the right of access to the documentation generated by the Local Council during the decisionmaking process? Will it be possible for the public to ask the Local Council for copies of documents created in connection with the decision making process only at the price of the copying? 10. What will be the terms of these conditions? Will the Local Council agree that the violation of these regulations will serve as grounds for abolishing the decisions of the Local Council?.

5.1.2 Regulation of the Activities of the Commissions of the Local Council It is important to note that the Commissions of the Local Council are responsible for preparing decisions. The regulations of these Commissions can and should include the rights of citizen participation in their activities. The regulations can, for instance, provide for the following: the right to learn about the Commission's sessions at least several days before they occur; the right to have copies of the Commissions preparatory documents; the right to participate in the Commission's sessions, including the right to submit proposals and to ask questions; the right to bring into the hall, where Commissions work, a limited number (three to five) outside specialists who can help the public defending it's positions. The right of access to the Commission's documents is included under the right of information to the Local Council's documentation. The Commissions are considered preparatory bodies which work more informally than the Council. It is therefore in the best interest of interested parties not to encumber the Commission's activities with many procedural rights, as is more appropriate for the activities of the Local Council.

Case 5.1 In the town of Rousse, one of the 'hot spots' on the Bulgarian ecological map, an announcement of the agenda for a Local Council session is made in the local newspaper one week before the session. In the town of Botevgrad, the decisions of the Local Council are announced at a special place in the lobby of the Local Council building, the same building houses the offices of the Local Administration. What examples do you know?

5.1.3 Regulation of the Activity of the Local Administration As far as the Regulation on the Activity of the Local Administration is concerned, there should be more rules included about the types of information that should be given to the public and the quickness of the procedure. The Local Council can adopt rules for: creating different departments for submitting information, with individual officials, responsible for giving the concrete information; sanctions for officials who have not given the public the asked information; in cases where the Local Administration prepares long-term decisions for the Local Council or for another state agency (for instance the local budget or the report on the state of the environment) increased public participation provisions can be mandated beyond the scope of those legally provided in order to make reports or proposals of the mayor more representative and more publicly accountable. In general the Local Administration is supposed to realize decisions of the Local Council, so there should not be many additional rules concerning public participation in the decisionmaking process. The Local Administration may also create special departments or units to assure that public participation rights are exercised unhindered, including the right of information and the right of submitting inquiries or requests. One concrete suggestion is the creation of a Department of Information and a separate Department of Public Relations.

Case 5.2 In the community of Troyan, local regulation on environmental protection provides some rules concerning the activity of the Local Administration. The Local Administration defines the data, concerning the environment that will be collected from industry (for example, the water, since there is a water crisis in Troyan and the lack of water is perceived as a "local ecological peculiarity"). The Local Administration has the right to impose sanctions on persons who do not submit the needed and requested data. While this is a right of the Local Administration, it is also an additional duty. Interested persons may therefore also ask information about the number of information submittals from industry as well as for the number of sanctions for those not obeying the local regulation. In Sliven, Varna and Botevgrad, the Local Councils adopted rules for the creation of local "eco-inspections." Acting as environmental policemen, local "eco-inspectors" have rights to impose sanctions for minor violations and to document larger violations of regulations (both central and local) for environmental protection. What examples do you know?

5.2 Creation of the Commissions of the Local Council and Election of Members 5.2.1 Creation of Commissions Commissions of the Local Council are intended to serve as administrators of Local Council activities. The public should therefore be concerned in instances where the Local Council does not know how or does not want to create appropriate Commissions. Interested parties should be proactive in monitoring and conducting assessments of future Council decisionmaking processes in order to suggest the creation of appropriate Commissions when important local problems are not covered in the activities of already existing Commissions. One possible suggestion for the Local Council would be for the creation of a Commission for Public Participation and Complaints which would serve the role as the "Local Ombudsman" to deal with major criticisms of or inquires about the activities of the Local Administration. 5.2.2 Election of Commission Members Article 48 of the Local Government and Local Administration Law provides explicitly for the possibility of including specialists that are not members of the Local Council in the work of Commissions. This provision provides a significant opportunity for interest groups to lobby for the inclusion of representatives in the work of Commissions. Interested parties can nominate delegates separately or jointly (and thus have a much greater change of success) and lobby (both publicly and through informal means) Local Councellors to include their recommended specialists on Commissions. Lobbying activities can also be a useful tool to encourage Councellors to remove certain delegates or to push for the inclusion of those supportive local Councellors who may not have been initially considered. 5.2.3 Work of the Commissions As was seen in previous sections, the rules for the work of Commissions may contain very specific rules for communicating with the local community or with specific interest groups. As regards the general work of Commissions, interested parties should carefully examine the specific assignments of given Commissions. This research is very important, since some issues or problems may fall within the work of several Commissions or may not be initially indicated in a given name of a Commission (see example, Box 5.3). Box 5.3 What's in a Name? "Commission on the Control of the Quality and Quantity of Plovdiv's Water" may be a more appropriate name than "Commission for Resolving the Plovdiv Water Problem," since a future polluters might refuse to deal with the latter-named Commission on the pretext that it should deal only with the water deficit in the city of Plovdiv, and not with the pollution created by his industry.

Case 5.3 After a torrential flood in the community of Svogue in Southern Bulgaria, the Local Council created a Commission for coping with the consequences of the flood. The Commission was "ad hoc" and consisted of both Local Coucellors and ordinary citizens. In Rousse, an Environmental Council was formed from 1989-1990 to the local community government. The Council consisted of both experts and general public members, including well-known experts and professionals in the field of environment, engineering, architecture and health care, as well as eminent citizens known by the public for their active role in environmental issues, including writers, artists, etc. At the time of the creation of this Council, there were no political criteria or motives for chosing the members. The Council's role was intended to stimulate public discussion on "hot" environmental problems of the town and to discuss opinions, decisions, etc. During the subsequent years after 1992, the flavor of the Council changed dramatically. The Council became more closely affiliated with the working structure of the local municipality; experts prevailed in discussions and recommendations. However, it was announced that public representatives are allowed to participate at any time, and the level of participation of the public is determined by their own willingness and interest to participate. What examples do you know?

5.3 Adoption of Local Regulations Local Councils are given the fundamental powers to adopt local regulations on local issues of a specific importance, including local regulations on: the environmental protection and the rational use of natural resources of local importance; the conditions for the activity of legal and physical persons on the territory the region, when these conditions are defined by the ecological peculiarities of the region. This is a matter that is not yet well developed and used by the NGOs. In Bulgarian legislation, there is not a clear delineation between matters regulated on a national level and matters regulated on a local level. However, the dispositions of Article 11, Point 8 of the LGLAL and Article 21, Page 13 of the LGLAL provide Local Councils with the power to regulate the matters already mentioned. It is also clear that local regulations on these matters can not contradict the national law. However, on some matters, legislation has not yet been adopted by the Parliament, including the collection and submission of environmental information to citizens. Local Councils may create regulations for collecting and submitting environmental information when connected with the issues mentioned above: in cities with polluted air, for instance, access to information about air emissions and air control (e.g. Rousse, Dimitrovgrad, Svishtov, Silistra) or in cities with water problems, access to information regarding the use and pollution of local water resources (e.g. Lovetch, Troian, Vratza). Article 21, Page 13 of the LGLAL indicates the principle that in order for a Local Council to adopt local regulations, there should be Ôlocal ecological, cultural, social and other peculiarities of the municipality,' that require such local regulation. When such local regulation is adopted, the problem naturally arises of whether the local regulation creates different conditions for economic activity for different persons (i.e. physical and legal). Therefore, the operating principle is that local regulations must not create unequal conditions for economic activity of the economic subjects on the territory of the municipality. Since any restriction by definition creates unequal conditions (even if only by comparison to the conditions existing in a neighboring municipality), we suggest the following approach for proceeding: Subjects on the territory of the municipality can be obliged to do some activities that are not of an "economic" nature, like giving information or organizing the self-monitoring process, for example. There is minimal, if any, existing danger of saying that the Local Council has created unequal conditions for the economic activity of the different subjects on the territory of the municipality. In the case of "economic" restrictions (local dispositions with economic significance) a possible idea can be to combine the restrictions on the economic activity with some financial incentives. At the moment, one such possibility is the Local Ecofund. The Ecofund's resources are spent per the decisions of a special Board, with the Mayor of the Municipality serving as President of the Board. In Article 18, Line 1 of the Regulation on collecting, spending and controlling the national and local Ecofunds (State Journal No. 5/19.I.1993) states that the "priorities in the municipality's politics," as well as the "adopted criteria for giving money from the Ecofund" shall be the basis for the Board's decisions. Therefore, the Local Council can adopt such "priorities in the municipality's politics" and "criteria for giving money from the local Ecofund" that shall be obligatory for the Boards, and according to which the most ecologically sound activities can be stimulated financially with the Local Ecofund. Under current legislation, the adoption of some kind of additional local taxation on an environmentally dangerous activity would be judged illegal. The Law on the Local Taxes provides the possibility for the Local Council to vote local taxes only in the cases provided by the law, and only within the amounts provided explicitly by the law. Therefore, taxation that steps out of the provided legal frame would be judged illegal.

Box 5.4 Examples of Local Regulations for the Protection of the Environment 1. Local regulation in Troyan: The local problem was a general lack of water, and poor quality of drinking water. Special rules beyond those existing in other regulations were adopted (e.g. a sanction against those who break the water counter of an industrial facility). 2. Local regulation in Botevgrad: The local problem was the noise from restaurants and bars in the central part of the city. Restrictions were adopted for the existing facilities, along with sanctions for teasing of animals (although not specifically an ecological problem, it provides a model). 3. Decision of the Local Council in the northern Bulgarian city of Vidin (at the border with Romania): The Local Council adopted a local tax, called an "ecological tax."Under the tax, any car or truck leaving Bulgaria was required to pay a tax of 3USD "for the improvement of the environment." Although the tax was called "ecological," the procedure is technically not legal under the authority of the Local Council, since it is not given the power to adopt such rules concerning the taxation of departing vehicles. After the tax was adopted, the Vidin Local Council and Local Administration lost control over the way the tax was collected and expenditure of revenues.

5.3.1 Regulation on Local Access to Information Provisions may be put in the local access to information regulations regarding the following: Regulation on the submission of information from industries to the local administration and the public in the municipality, for instance: quality of consumed water per month, per year; number and type of water sources (i.e. how many of them belong only to the person and how many sources are linked to the central water supply network); water consumption permits; water discharge permits; the location points of where water is discharged; and any documentation about the discharge of water. Special obligations that aim to assure the effectiveness of the access to information regulation, for instance: the obligation of every facility owner to appoint an official within the facility who will be responsible for collecting and submitting to the Local Administration the data requested or required under the law; the obligation of officials or workers within the facility to submit the mentioned data by a given deadline. See also potential provisions for local access to information through the Local Administration, Local Councellors (who must obtain information if requested) and through the work of the Commissions of the Local Councils. 5.3.2 Regulation on Activities of Legal or Physical Persons in a Municipality The conditions for the activity of legal or physical persons on the territory of a region, when these conditions are defined by the ecological peculiarities of the region, can be regulated in the same way, keeping in mind the same eventual difficulties: the question whether the regulation is not contrary to the law, and the assessment of what are the ecological peculiarities of the region. The definitions of Article 11, Page 8 and Article 21, Page 13 of LGLAL coincide, so the motives for voting a regulation, based on Article 21, Page 13 of LGLAL can also serve Article 11, Page 8 of the same law. The only available example to illustrate what can be regulated through Article 21, Page 13, is that of the case of the problem of the deficiency of local water. In this case it is possible to: adopt specific norms, linked with the consumption of water, providing higher prices for water consumption beyond a certain limit; impose stricter controls on water consumption, and organize this control on the controlled person's expenses; see what was suggested in earlier sections in connection with the access to information linked with the consumption of water. 5.3.3 Regulation on Protected Areas If a protected area is situated near or within a municipality, the Local Council can adopt provisions aimed at preserving the conservation area. For example, if the region includes a wet zone, where many important and rare species live, and even if the conservation area has it's own system of economic activities, the Local Council can adopt regulations on it's own initiative. The Local Council may provide some restrictions in the economic zone either outside or on the border of the protected zone: restrictions on the use of certain pesticides; or restriction for cutting the grass in a given period; or obligations of the farmers to keep documentation on the output and use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides; or obligations of the farmers to use natural fertilizers. With very strong attention to European standards for each of these issues, the Local Council can adopt provisions regarding the number of cattle or other domestic animals that can be kept in a prescribed area.

Case 5.4 Such regulations were adopted in Troyan and in Botevgrad. The main difficulty, however, the application of these regulations, since the Local Administration is generally not enclined to enter into conflict with industry for the sake of citizen interests. For this reason it is important to exert pressure on the Local Administration to implement a local regulation once it is adopted. What examples do you know?

5.4 Decisions Whether Municipal Local Referenda will be Held on an Issue Under Article 21, Page 20 of the LGLAL, the Local Council can make the decision to hold a local referendum on an issue that concerns the municipality. Three major questions concern the local referendum: What type of issues may be decided by referendum? How should the decision be made?; and Who will pay for organizing the referendum? 5.4.1 What type of issues may be decided by referendum? The most difficult question to answer is the first question. Article 17/2 of the LGLAL states that local referendum can be held on questions connected to the municipality's policies. In Article 11, Page 8 of LGLAL is a reference to this issue, including provisions for the local government authorities to make decisions on environmental issues and on issues connected with the rational use of natural resources of local importance. For interested persons, therefore, there remains a great deal of work to create the definition of the issues that will be decided on by referendum. The suggestion for future local referenda would be to define very clearly the question that will be decided by the referenda. The question must be asked in a manner that makes it clear that it is a local issue that is being addressed, not one of national importance. For example, if the construction of a chemical plant endangers the flora and fauna of a given region, the local referendum can be held on the issue of designating the area a conservation zone with rules for economic activity that would exclude the construction of a chemical plant. The referendum will illustrate to the Minister of Environment (who has the right to designate conservation areas), without a doubt, that the issue is of local importance through a clear majority of the people living in the region. In other cases it is possible that the referendum indicates not a proposal, but a decision as in the case cited above. Such a decision can be on the question, for example, of whether a solid waste treatment plant can be constructed on the territory of the municipality. 5.4.2 How should the decision be made to hold a referendum? The decision for having a local referendum is made by the Local Council, and Article 17/2 of the LGLAL requires a majority of more than half the Local Councellors. Because of the specificity in defining the question for the local referendum, and of the fact that in the Local Council there are often people with opposing ideas, it is good if interested persons prepare all questions and begin lobbying Local Councellors on those documents already prepared for the local referendum. In this case, the risk of error in the definition of the referendum question will be limited and assure the future success of the action. 5.4.3 Who shall pay for organizing the referendum? Article 17/4 of the LGLAL states that local referenda shall be financed from the local budget. This issue is determined by a decision of the Local Council. Interested persons should be aware of this, otherwise the decision for holding local referendum may remain at the decision stage with no practical results.

Box 5.5 Important issues to remember in organizing referenda: - The national legislation must a be consulted when referenda are organized and interested parties must find the exact text that provides the power to the local government to issue a decision on a given matter. - The referendum question must be asked in such a way that people are able to answer simply "yes" or "no."

5.5 Resolution of Problems Linked with Solid Waste Treatment Solid waste is by far the most common environmental protection problem. In Bulgaria, the collection, transport and treatment of solid waste is done by communal, local, enterprises created many years ago prior to the political changes in the country. The primary difficulty in approaching solid waste problems is to introduce practical legal mechanisms to minimize the production of solid waste and to regulate the system of transporting and deposing of the solid waste. The major economic instrument to provide an incentive for people to "produce" less garbage are the mechanisms provided in Articles 63-66 of the Local Taxes Law (LTL). Local Councils are given the power to collect taxes calculated on the basis of the quantity of garbage and the money spent for the service of collecting, transporting and storing the garbage. There are very good opportunities for interested persons to look into the calculation scheme of the garbage collecting activity and for controlling the effectiveness of the process. This requires work from a financial expert, but once the situation is known, interested parties can submit suggestions for the improvement. Interested parties can propose options for improvements to the Local Council in the following ways: introducing competition for collecting garbage. Competition may help the Local Administration identify the best contract from both a financial and public participation point of view; announcing in the media the conditions of the confirmed contract; including in the contract a clause under which a mixed body (included interested parties from the public) will assess the quality of all or some of the results; introducing an incentive to collect organic and the non-organic garbage separately (e.g. local tax reduction); the Local Council can decide to create a special "compost field" where the organic garbage can be kept and/or create a local organization to sell the compost. All these improvements in the collection and treatment of solid waste can be adopted as decisions of the Local Council. Interested parties should decide whether it is wise first to lobby Commissions and then the Local Council, or first to lobby Local Councellors and create a Commission for resolving one of the mentioned problems. 5.6 Enactment of the Local Budget According to Article 21, Page 6 of the LGLAL, the enactment of the local budget is the prerogative of the Local Council. The Local Council has the power to enact, control and finally to approve the report of expenditures of the budget. Article 56/1 of the LGLAL states that the budget is prepared by the Mayor of the municipality, who submits it to the Local Council. If the Mayor of the municipality creates a Commission for the preparation of the budget, interested persons can attend the sessions of this Commission. In all cases, interested persons can ask for information about how the budget is prepared, and when and where the sessions of the Commission that prepares the budget will be held.Very useful information can be provided during the process of discussing and voting on the local budget. The primary inconvenience in the budget process is that the local budget is related to the national budget and in previous years the adoption of the national budget was voted on late in the year. Also, from a practical point of view, it is good to know that very few municipalities in the country can enact their budget relying only on local budget resources. The majority of municipalities are financed through the national budget. This should not discourage interested parties from seeking information about the local budget; it is very important for the public to be informed for this process. Information about how the Local Administrations' budgetary process can be requested according to the general rules regarding the right of information as stated in Article 41 of the Constitution. There is also the explicit rule under Article 58 of LGLAL, which states: "The local budget is accessible for the public and the public controls the local budget." There should be no problem for a citizen to request information regarding the local budget in his/her community. Information about the local budget should be asked directly from the Mayor of the municipality (if it is an inquiry regarding the municipality) or from the Mayor of the town or village if the inquiry directly concerns the budget of this smaller area. As discussed earlier, the Regulation on the Activity of the Local Administration provides for the creation of a special department for information. 5.7 Enactment of the General Version of Local Land-Use Plan According to the Building Law, the Local Council adopts the Local Land Use Plan. The Local Land Use Plan (LLUP) regulates the way of using the land within the city limits. The general version of the LLUP outlines the way the city shall be constructed and developed. Different parts of the city have different types of designation, i.e. industrial areas, green areas, areas for residential or industrial development and construction. The Building Law includes provisions for a procedure called "public assessment" within the LLUP. However, in the Building Law there is not any legal guarantee to assure that the procedure will be followed. The "public assessment"procedure does not provide additional legal resources for obtaining information. A violation of the procedures for "public assessment" does not serve as cause for abolishing the LLUP. Interested parties should require information about the LLUP and try to take part early on the stage of preparation of the LLUP. The LLUP is a project for which the EPL prescribes an EIA. Therefore, all that is described herein relating to public participation in the EIA process is also in force and can be used in connection with the LLUP. Consultation with a specialist is needed so that the interested party knows whether the LLUP violates the legal provisions (for instance, regarding the possible height of construction, or regarding the permissible distances between industrial facilities and residential areas). If such legal provisions are violated, then the LLUP can be abolished for the parts found to be illegal. 5.8 Announcing and Appealing Decisions of the Local Council The decisions of the Local Council are public, and according to Article 27 of LGLAL, the Local Council must announce them to the public. Normally, the decisions of the Local Council are announced in the hall of the building where the Council and the Local Administration have their offices. If the Local Council does not post this information, the interested parties can remind the Council of its obligation under the LGLAL and request it to post information. Any decision of the Council which does not follow the procedure in the law for announcement would be considered under the law to be invalid. In the case that a Local Administration attempts to apply such an undisclosed decision, interested parties may object through action in the court. Decisions of the Local Council are of two types: individual, and regulatory (called "regulations" in Article 22 of the LGLAL). Both decisions are accessible to the public and should be announced. However, the regulations must be sent to the Regional Governor in a seven days period of the date of their adoption. If the Regional Governor finds the regulations of the Local Council illegal (i.e. contrary to the law) s/he can stop their application and bring the regulation to the Regional Court. Under Article 72 of the LGLAL, the Regional Court can judge whether the regulation is illegal or not. Interested parties should concern themselves both with cases when local regulations mitigate and reinforce environmental protection measures. In the first instance, when local regulations mitigate environmental protection measures, interested parties can submit a written opinion to the Regional Governor with a demand to bring the Regulation in the Regional Court. In the written opinion, interested parties should illustrate to the Governor the points where the local regulation violates the law. If the Governor decides and brings the local regulation to court, then the interested parties can ask the Regional Court to give them the status of a party in the procedure. There is not yet jurisprudence on this issue, but it is very important for interested parties to apply for such status all the same. In the second instance, when the local regulation reinforces the environmental protection measures, interested parties do not have an invested interest in abolishing the regulation. Regulations more severe than the law are certainly more favorable for the local environment. In this case, initiative for abolishing the local regulation would originate from some other interest. However, in this case interested parties may also ask to have the status of a party in the procedure. The demand for such status should be submitted to the Regional Court along with documents that prove the involvement of the interested party in the protection of the environment.

5.9 The Local Administration The role of the Local Administration is to organize and implement decisions of the Local Council and to exercise some functions that have been designated by the law or by decisions of the central authorities. At the head of the Local Administration is the Mayor, who is elected with a direct vote by the voters in the municipality or in the city. Whenever the Local Administration is to implement a decision of the Local Council, or of the central government, interested parties can use legal and nonformal tools for influencing the process to further environmental concerns. In the first case, the Mayor is requested to bring about a decision of the Local Council. Such decisions can sometimes be in contradiction with the public's wishes and expectations. The Local Council's decision can contradict either the law or the "community's interests." In such cases, interested parties may appeal to the Mayor to use the tool provided by Article 45, Line 2 of the LGLAL: "The Mayor can object to a decision of the Local Council, when s/he thinks that the decision contradicts the law or that the decision contradicts the interests of the community." In case the Mayor objects to the Local Council's decision, the Council must make a new decision on the same issue, but the decision requires a majority of more than half of all Local Councellors. Interested parties should therefore lobby the Mayor to utilize the tool provided by Article 45/2 of LGLAL. When the Mayor implements decisions of the central government or executes regulations prescribed in the law, interested parties can appeal the Mayor's decisions according to the general principle, that all administrative acts are appealable. Besides the cases where the Mayor issues administrative acts that concern public interest, and therefore can be appealed, the Mayor can issue an act where the public's interest is involved, and which acts prepare decisions, which are important for the environment.

Box 5.6 The following are examples of administrative acts issued by the Mayor that can be appealed by the interested parties: - the act for approving a change in the detailed construction plan and in the silouette plan, which are detailed versions of the General Use Plan. This act is appealable by the person who can prove legal interest for starting the procedure. There is not yet jurisprudence on the issue of whether an association for the protection of the environment can appeal a MayorÕs order for approving a change in the detailed construction plan and in the detailed silhouette plan (it can be an association for the protection of the architectural heritage). The question remains that the law recognizes the right of a physical person living in the area where the General Use Plan happens to appeal, but does not explicitly recognize the right of a group of citizens (who may not live next to the area in question as required under the law) to appeal. This has direct impact on the ability of those who have created an NGO to protect that area to appeal the process. - the construction permit. The construction permit is issued on the basis of an already approved and existing general land use plan, and the detailed construction plan, silhouette plan, etc. The Building Law contains detailed provisions, but the main issue is that the construction permit must not contradict the general and the detailed plans. Any construction permit that is given in contradiction to the provisions of the general plan and the other detailed plans can be appealed in court and annulled.