Suchergebnisse

Cilj je ovoga rada razmotriti je li Hrvatskoj potrebna institucionalna reforma upravnosudskog sustava te koje alternative Hrvatskoj stoje na raspolaganju odluči li se za ovu reformu. Rad je podijeljen u pet dijelova. Nakon uvodnog dijela u kojem autor općenito problematizira o važnosti sudskog nadzora zakonitosti rada uprave i upravnog spora, analizira se stanje institucionalnog ustroja upravnog spora u Hrvatskoj danas. Zatim se razmatraju modeli ustroja upravnog spora u nekim europskim državama te se nastoji utvrditi postoji li jedinstveni europski model institucionalnog ustroja upravnog sudstva. Slijedi prikaz mogućih reformskih alternativa ukoliko se Hrvatska za takvu reformu odluči. U zaključku, autor sumira analiziranu problematiku te modele njezinog mogućeg prevladavanja. ; The aim of this paper is to examine whether Croatia needs institutional reform of the administrative judicial system and which alternatives Croatia has at its disposal if it decides upon this reform. This paper is divided into fi ve parts. After the introductory part, in which the author generally problematises the importance of judicial supervision of the legality of the work of administration and administrative dispute resolution, the state of the institutional structure of administrative dispute resolution in Croatia today is analysed. Then, organisational models of administrative dispute resloution in certain European countries are considered and an attempt is made at trying to establish whether a unitary European model of institutional organisation of administrative judiciary exists. An analysis of possible reform alternatives follows in so far as Croatia decides on such reform. In the conclusion, the author summarises the analysis of the problem areas and models of its possible prevalence.

Sustav mirovinskoga osiguranja u Bosni i Hercegovini, s dva podsustava organizirana na entitetskoj razini, funkcionira u nepovoljnome makroekonomskom kontekstu, što se reflektira u malome broju osiguranika te velikoj stopi rasta novih umirovljenika, čemu pridonosi i niska efektivna starosna dob umirovljenja. Posljedica je svega toga iznimno niska primanja redovnih umirovljenika. Bosna i Hercegovina jedina je država u regiji i jedna od rijetkih tranzicijskih država koje nisu provele reformu i diversifikaciju svoga mirovinskog sustava. U posljednje vrijeme pitanje reforme mirovinskoga sustava aktualizira se kako problem financiranja sadašnje razine mirovinskih prava u Bosni i Hercegovini postaje sve akutniji i očitiji pa političari traže moguća rješenja. Vlada Federacije BiH do sada je usvojila dva nacrta Strategije reforme mirovinskoga sustava, dok je prijedlog Strategije reforme mirovinskoga sustava Republike Srpske usvojen u svibnju ove godine. Oba teksta strategije predviđaju pogoršanje položaja umirovljenika u budućnosti te stoga predlažu uvođenje različitih oblika privatno upravljanoga mirovinskog osiguranja kapitalizirane štednje. Ovaj rad analizira izvodivost i perspektive predloženih mirovinskih reformâ u bosanskohercegovačkome kontekstu. ; Pension system in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with two sub-systems organised on entity level, operates in unfavorable macroeconomic conditions, which is being reflected through low number of contributors and high rate of incoming pensioners, to which contributes low effective pensionable age. This is reflected in very law pension benefits of regular pensioners. Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only country in the region and a rare transitional country that has not reformed and diversified its pension system. The question of pension system reform has emerged recently as the problem of financing of current level of pension benefits becomes more obvious and acute, and policy creators are looking for possible solutions. Federation B&H Government so far adopted two documents of Strategy of Pension System Reform in Federation B&H, while institutions of Republika Srpska have adopted Strategy of Pension System Reform in Republika Srpska in May this year. Both entity Strategy documents envisage aggravations of current pension system problems in the future and propose introduction of different models of privately managed funded pension schemes. The aim of this article is to analyse feasibility and perspectives of proposed pension system reforms in the context of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Hrvatska Vlada nastavlja kontinuirani rad s ciljem kurikularne reforme na čelu s premijerom Plenkovićem koji je postavljen da bi se osigurao nastavak rada. Talijanska Vlada je usvojila Zakon o reformi nacionalnoga odgoja i obrazovanja, tzv. "Dobra škola". Jasno su bili definirani svrha i ciljevi, alati, načini realizacije i vrednovanja te dodaci za rad za nastavnike i školu te za sve one koji žele ulagati u školsku infrastrukturu. Postoje dvije vrlo slične realnosti u školama koje imaju potrebu za snažnom podrškom društva. ; The Croatian government has continued with its work aiming at curriculum reform with premier Plenković at its head: he has been given this task in order to ensure that this reform will continue. The Italian government has incorporated a law concerning the reform of national education tiltled as the "Good School". The aims and means have been clearly defined, the tools required, the means of realisation and evaluation, as well as additions for teachers, schools and all those who desire investing in school infrastructure. There are two very similar realities in schools that have the need for the strong support of the community. ; Il Governo croato sta continuando a lavorare alla Riforma curricolare e a capo della Commissione per l'attuazione della stessa è stato eletto il premier Plenković per garantire la continuità. Il Governo italiano ha approvato la Legge sulla Riforma del sistema nazionale di istruzione e formazione, la cosiddetta Buona Scuola. Sono stati chiaramente definiti gli scopi, gli obiettivi, gli strumenti, le modalità di attuazione e valutazione, i bonus per docenti e gli school bonus per coloro che vogliono investire nell'infrastruttura scolastica. Sono due mondi scolastici molto simili che abbisognano di un forte sostegno della società.

Rad se temelji na empirijskome istraživanju kojemu je polazna teza tvrdnja da trenutačno važeći Izborni zakon ne može ispuniti zahtjeve segmentirana bosanskohercegovačkog društva, posebice najmalobrojnijega hrvatskog segmenta. Istraživanje koncipirano na osnovi anketnoga upitnika i empirijske analize pokazalo je da je promišljanje Hrvata o ukupnoj društvenoj i političkoj situaciji u Bosni i Hercegovini izrazito negativno. Pokazalo se da Izborni zakon preferira unitarizaciju Bosne i Hercegovine, što nije primjereno segmentiranim društvima kao što je bosanskohercegovačko. Terensko istraživanje urađeno je na prostoru cijele Bosne i Hercegovine kako bi se dobio kompletan i relevantan empirijski okvir promišljanja hrvatskoga naroda, a struktura istraživanja pratila je administrativno-teritorijalnu uređenost Bosne i Hercegovine uzimajući u obzir entitetske razine, županije te Distrikt Brčko. ; The paper is based on empirical research structured on the claim that the current Election Law cannot fulfill the requirements of the segmented Bosnian-Herzegovinian society, especially the smallest Croatian segment. The research conceived on the basis of questionnaire and empirical analysis showed that the opinion of Croats on the overall social and political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is extremely negative. The Election Law has proved to prefer unitarization of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is not appropriate for segmented societies such as Bosnian and Herzegovinian. Field research was conducted throughout entire country in order to obtain a complete and relevant empirical framework for opinion of the Croatian people, and the research structure followed the administrative-territorial organization of Bosnia and Herzegovina, taking into account entity levels, cantons and Brčko District.

Promatrajući habsburšku obrazovnu politiku prema mađarskom i hrvatskom plemstvu 1760-ih kroz perspektivu bečkog suda, autorica analizira pokušaje bečkog dvora da nadvlada suprotstavljene interese tradicionalnih struktura vlasti i protomoderne države. Kako je Habsburška Monarhija preuzimala kontrolu nad obrazovanjem u drugoj polovici 18. stoljeća, obrazovanje se usmjeravalo na sadržaje koji favoriziraju interese vladarskog suverena te pokušaji "političkog discipliniranja" postaju sastavni dio nastavnog materijala. Te su tendencije postale osobito istaknute u reformi pravnog obrazovanja kroz koje se tada definiraju odnosi između vladara i staleža, između države i njezinih stanovnika, kao i prava i obveze političkih subjekata, s naglaskom na značenje javnog dobra, blagostanja i potreba vremena. Obrazovna politika bečkog dvora u 1760-ima predstavljala je preokret u povijesti pravnog obrazovanja u Mađarskoj i Hrvatskoj, kao i razdoblje utvrđivanja novih obrazovnih standarda za javne službenike. ; Examining the Habsburg educational policy towards the Hungarian and Croatian nobility in the 1760s through the perspective of the Vienna Court the author analyses the Court's attempts to overcome conflicting interests of the traditional structures of the estates and the proto-modern state. With the Vienna Court assuming control over education in the second half of the 18th century, tendencies began to appear focusing education on contents that favour the interests of the ruler's sovereignty and attempts to 'politically discipline' become a constituent part of teaching material. These tendencies became especially prominent in the reform of legal education through which relations between the ruler and the estates, between the state and its inhabitants as well as the rights and obligations of political subjects were defined, with emphasis on the meaning of public good, prosperity and necessities of time. The Vienna Court's education policy in the 1760s presented a turnabout in the history of legal education in Hungary and Croatia and a period of assertion of new educational standards for public servants.

Skrbništvo kao institut obiteljskog prava je desetljećima bilo važno, ali ipak neriješeno pitanje. Posljednja reforma obiteljskog prava iz 2014. i 2015. godine donijela je određene promjene koje su objašnjene i zagovarane kao novi doprinos poboljšanju pravnog položaja odraslih osoba s invaliditetom s jedne, te doprinos pravnoj sigurnosti te vladavini prava s druge strane. Obiteljski zakon propisuje da se osoba ne može potpuno lišiti poslovne sposobnosti, već samo djelomice. Možemo se samo zapitati kako se ova odredba može primijeniti, primjerice, u slučajevima kad je ta osoba u komi? Mudar zakonodavac dopušta da suci budu daleko više od samih izvršitelja njegovih namjera. Međutim, čini se da bi mudar sudac pri donošenju odluke o tom pitanju u određenim slučajevima djelovao contra legem, ako bi pokušao dosljedno i sveobuhvatno zaštititi osobu s invaliditetom, što ne može biti prihvatljivo. Stoga je cilj ovog rada dodatno osvijetliti novousvojene odredbe Obiteljskog zakona u odnosu na lišenje poslovne sposobnosti, s općom pretpostavkom da se takva zakonodavna intervencija ne može smatrati ni razmjernom niti učinkovitom. ; Guardianship as a family-law institute has been an important, yet unsolved issue for decades now. The latest family law reform of 2014 and 2015 brought certain changes, which have been explained and advocated for as a new contribution to the improvement of the legal position of adults with disabilities on one hand as well as the legal certainty and the rule of law on the other. The Croatian Family Act proclaims that a person cannot be deprived of legal capacity completely, but only partially. One can only wonder - how can this provision be implemented in cases of a coma for instance? A wise legislator allows judges to be far more than the pure executors of a person with disabilites´ intentions. However, it seems that a wise judge when deciding upon this issue would in certain cases be acting contra legem if attempting to coherently protect the person with disabilities, which cannot be acceptable. Therefore, it is the aim of this paper to shed additional light on the newly adopted provisions of the Family Act as regards the deprivation of legal capacity, with the general premise that such a legislative intervention is neither proportional nor efficient.

Kao ključnu novinu prvog modernog hrvatskog Stečajnog zakona iz 1996. možemo istaknuti pouzdanost kriterija na temelju kojih se odlučuje o pokretanju stečajnog postupka. On se pokreće prijedlogom vjerovnika ili dužnika kada se utvrdi postojanje kojega od zakonom predviđenih stečajnih razloga (insolventnost i insuficientnost). U četvrtoj noveli ovog Zakona iz 2006., proširen je krug ovlaštenih osoba za pokretanje stečajnog postupka. St. 1. čl. 39. sada glasi: "Stečajni postupak se pokreće prijedlogom vjerovnika ili dužnika, ako zakonom nije drugačije određeno". U isto vrijeme, na ljeto 2006., Hrvatski je sabor donio Zakon o sportu kojim se, između ostalog, regulira da je tijelo državne uprave nadležno za sport na prijedlog Povjerenstva za profesionalne športske klubove ovlašteno ex offo pokrenuti stečajni postupak ukoliko športski klub-udruga za natjecanje ne provede postupak preoblikovanja u športsko dioničko društvo ili ako preoblikovanje nije uspjelo. Cilj je rada sagledati odredbu čl. 41. Zakona o sportu o obvezi preoblikovanja sportskog kluba – udruge za natjecanje u sportsko dioničko društvo u odnosu na pravno načelo razmjernosti koje nalaže da prava mogu biti ograničena samo u mjeri koja je potrebna za dostizanje cilja koji se želi postići tim ograničenjem. ; One of the key features of the first modern Croatian Bankruptcy Act of 1996 is the reliability of the criteria based on which the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings is decided. Bankruptcy proceedings are initiated by the proposal of the creditor or the debtor when the existence of any of the legally prescribed bankruptcy reasons (insolvency and insufficiency) is determined. In the fourth amendment to this Act in 2006, the circle of authorized persons for initiating bankruptcy proceedings was expanded. In Article 39(1) shall read: "Bankruptcy proceedings are initiated by a proposal of the creditor or the debtor, unless otherwise specified by law." At the same time, in summer 2006, the Croatian Parliament passed the Sports Act, which among other ...

Haberle claims constitutional law is a comparative experiential science closely linked with political science with which it shares the research subject. The constitutional state has been going through a permanent process of changes; the central question is who is the prime mover of constitutional changes: constitutional/legal institutions, constitutional/legal science, & political science or public opinion & political culture of citizens? By analyzing the recent history of the changes of the German constitutions he suggests that all these factors contribute to constitutional changes. Nevertheless, as an expert for law & political science, who considers himself as belonging to the wider European scientific community, Haberle thinks that the decisive influences in constitutional changes stem from legal & political sciences & concludes: Sine qua (scientia) mortalium vita non regitur liberaliter (Without science, mortals do not command their life freely). Adapted from the source document.

Faza europeizacije hrvatske javne uprave započela je 2001. godine. Obuhvaća značajne promjene u središnjoj državnoj upravi, javnim službama (službama od općeg interesa), lokalnoj i regionalnoj samoupravi, službeničkom sustavu, upravnom obrazovanju, općem upravnom pravu te u sustavu pravne zaštite građana. U svim tim područjima razvijaju se značajni europski standardi, koji služe kao oslonac harmonizacije javnih uprava europskih zemalja. Europske standarde razvijaju Europska unija, Vijeće Europe, ali i same europske zemlje međusobnom razmjenom i učenjem. Reformama hrvatske uprave želi se ojačati upravne kapacitete, ostvarenje standarda dobrog europskog upravljanja i efektivni ulazak u zajednički europski upravni prostor. Europska je unija nametnula politiku i mehanizme kondicionalnosti te osigurala značajna financijska sredstva, projekte i stručnu potporu upravnim reformama u Hrvatskoj. Prilagodbe su u tijeku, a usprkos općenito dobrim rezultatima, ostaje značajni prostor za punu europeizaciju, u smislu postizanja odgovarajućih učinaka hrvatske javne uprave. ; Europeanization of the Croatian public administration formally started in 2001. This phase has encompassed important changes of the central state administration, services of general interest, local and regional self-government, civil service, administrative education and in-service training, general administrative law and system of legal protection of citizens. Reforms have been oriented towards strengthening administrative capacities, acquiring standards of good European governance, and effective entrance into common European Administrative Space. During that phase, till the Croatian accession, the European Union imposed conditionality policy and mechanisms, and ensured huge financial and expert support to the reforms. Reforms at the central level consisted of agencification, professionalisation and depoliticisation of the civil service, Europeanization of a significant part of sectoral public policies and strengthening openness and ethical standards. The purposes of reforms at the local and regional levels have been strengthening democratic legitimacy, reorientation towards economic development, and realisation of prerequisites for more efficient regional policy in line with European regional and structural policy. A new concept of services of general interest along with liberalisation, privatisation and commercialisation policy has been realised. Independent regulation of services of general economic interest and fostering better quality of non-economic services of general interest have been developed. Legal protection of citizens has been strengthened by introducing two-tier administrative justice and realisation of standards of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of the Council of Europe, parallel with some administrative simplification. The right to good administration, established by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, has attracted increased attention. Certain steps towards quality modern education for key administrative personnel have been made.

Wine-growing and wine industry are strategic activities of great importance to the Republic of Croatia. By its range of products and the quality of wine our country is "the wine world in small". The areas of vineyards are reduced to minimum (58.513 ha), but there is a possibility of planting vine on significantly larger vineyard surfaces. The annual wine production amounts to 200 million litres, of which only one third of wine production is recoreded. The number of wine-growers registered in the Register is 14,436, even though there are almost 100 000 families in this production. Croatia needs 10 000 family estates with the area of vineyards of about 5 ha; these areas would make this production maintainable. By the time Croatia joins the EU we should have 70, 000 ha of vineyards, which practically means that we must plant from 2 000 to 3 000 ha of vineyards a year. The realization and implementation of the Law on wine should be observed through the reform of the overall agriculture (Law on agriculture, Law on agricultural land, Law on stimulus in agriculture, forestry and fishery, Strategy of the development of Croatia, and so on). We believe that this new legislation in this area will enable faster and higher quality solvation of the problems that appear in wine-growing and wine production. Finally, it is important to create the conditions for the maintenance of wine-growing estates, for significant enlargement of wine-growing areas and for the larger vine and wine production, for the doubling of the registered wine trade, for the significant increase in wine consumption (30 to 40 litres per capita) and for a more significant wine export. The new Law on wine, the reform of stimulus, the Law on agricultural areas and other regulations are a quality basis for sorting things out in this production and for the realization of the set goals. Operational programme for creating 13, 000 ha of vineyards in the period from 2004 to 2007 is being realized. In 2004 / 05 13 million of vine seedlings were planted, of which the Croatian production accounts for 10 million, that makes about 2 700 ha of newly planted vineyards. More than 3000 ha of forest areas have been given commissioned (for cultivation). Through HBOR and HAMAG 175 loans have been approved and 57 million kn have been granted, with the interest rate of 4 % on 10 years and with the grace period of two years. The trend of vineyard planting is going to continue in 2006, when over 3000 ha of vineyards are expected to be planted. High quality seedlings will be provided for this production. Almost a thousand sorts of more and more quality wines on Croatian market are a guarantee for sparkling possibilities of wine-growing and wine production in the country. Never before has so much been done for the industry of wine-growing and wine production as nowadays, and there is no doubt that the results will be seen. These programmes (Operational programme for vineyard creation, Commissions for forest areas, Giving loans to permanent plantantions etc.) must bear fruit and this Ministry and Government will be remembered by the good they have made, by the quality wine offered together with the rich food in Croatia and in the world, and finally, by the beauty that a high quality wine gives!

Students enter the labour market through a Student Service to have the opportunity to pay for tuition fees or to earn additional income that would allow for the parents or guardian's budget to be disbursed. Although almost 70% of full-time students were working through a student contract in 2016, the Regulation on intermediaries for employment of full-time students from 1996 was the only legal document that was regulating student employment. Due to improperness of this document and the fact that student employment is not under the Labour Law, in November 2017 the Croatian Government published a proposal for the new Student Employment Act, which was passed in November 2018. Subsequently, the reform of regulatory framework of student employment is important to student work force. According to the Regulation in force, there is no constraint on the maximum weekly working hours or maximum annual earnings. Nevertheless, student income can become taxable under the rules of Personal Income Tax Law if it exceeds the annual limit of 60,600.00 HRK. Consequently, the reform of personal income tax is also significant for students if they do not want to become a taxpayer of personal income tax. Based on this, the main goal of this paper is to analyse attitudes of students towards the regulatory framework of student employment, reform of personal income tax and their work under the mediation of the Student Centre. In order to question student attitudes, the questionnaire was used and the results of the analysis carried out before changes in legislation, in February and March 2018, indicate that students were not satisfied with the existing regulatory framework and the personal income tax reform, and that they expect the improvement of working conditions with the implementation of the new Student Employment Act. ; Studenti se uključuju na tržište rada preko studentskog servisa kako bi imali priliku platiti školarinu ili zaraditi dodatne prihode s ciljem financijskog rasterećenja roditelja ili staratelja. Iako je gotovo 70% redovnih studenata radilo preko studentskog ugovora u 2016. godini, jedini pravni dokument koji je regulirao zapošljavanje studenata je bio Pravilnik o posredovanju pri zapošljavanju redovitih studenata iz 1996. godine. Zbog neprimjerenosti ovog dokumenta i činjenice da zapošljavanje studenata nije regulirano Zakonom o radu, u studenome 2017. godine Vlada Republike Hrvatske objavila je prijedlog novog Zakona o obavljanju studentskih poslova, koji je izglasan u studenom 2018. godine. Zbog toga, reforma regulatornog okvira zapošljavanja studenata važna je za studentsku radnu snagu. Prema važećem Pravilniku, ne postoji ograničenje maksimalnog tjednog radnog vremena ili maksimalne godišnje zarade. Unatoč tome, dohodak studenata može postati oporeziv prema pravilima Zakona o porezu na dohodak, ako premašuje godišnju granicu od 60.600,00 kuna. Slijedom toga, reforma poreza na dohodak je također značajna za studente ako ne žele postati poreznim obveznikom poreza na dohodak. Na temelju toga, glavni je cilj ovoga rada analizirati stavove studenata prema regulatornom okviru zapošljavanja studenata, reformi poreza na dohodak i njihov rad pod posredovanjem Studentskog centra. Kako bi se ispitali stavovi učenika, korišten je upitnik, a rezultati analize provedeni prije izmjene zakonodavnog okvira, u veljači i ožujku 2018. godine, pokazuju da studenti nisu zadovoljni postojećim regulatornim okvirom i reformom poreza na dohodak, te da očekuju poboljšanje radnih uvjeta stupanjem na snagu novog Zakona o obavljanju studentskih poslova.

Autori u radu daju osvrt na postanak i razvitak stanarskog prava, te presjek domaćih pravnih propisa koji su se odnosili na stanarsko pravo, kao i propisa kojima je izvršena pretvorba stambenih odnosa. Pišu o značaju stupanja na snagu Zakona o najmu, kada je prestalo stanarsko pravo osobama koje su to pravo stekle prema ranijim propisima te su one po sili zakona postale najmoprimci (u pravilu, zaštićeni najmoprimci). Podsjećaju da pitanja vezana uz pretvorbu iz stanarskog prava u vlasništvo na stanovima te brojni sudski sporovi koji su proizašli iz te materije još uvijek nisu, niti stvarna niti sudska, prošlost. Autori navode stajališta i praksu Ustavnog suda Republike Hrvatske, te Europskog suda za ljudska prava (ESLJP). Posebno ističu presudu ESLJP-a Statileo protiv Hrvatske, u kojoj je Europski sud uvažio činjenicu da su hrvatske vlasti tijekom tranzicije bile suočene s teškim zadatkom stvaranja ravnoteže između prava najmodavaca i zaštićenih najmoprimaca koji su stanovali u stanovima dugo vremena, te je zaključio da u konkretnom slučaju nije postojala pravedna raspodjela socijalnog i financijskog tereta koji je nastao kao posljedica reforme u stambenom sektoru. Umjesto toga, prema ocjeni ESLJP-a, na podnositelja je stavljen nerazmjeran i pretjerani pojedinačni teret, budući da je morao snositi većinu socijalnih i financijskih troškova stambenog zbrinjavanja zaštićene najmoprimke i njezine obitelji, zbog čega je ESLJP utvrdio povredu članka 1. Protokola br. 1. ; The authors of this paper provide an overview of the creation and development of tenancy rights, and of the domestic legislation dealing with tenancy rights, as well as legislation that was used to reform tenancy relations. They mention the significance of the enactment of the Lease of Flats Act, when tenancy rights were withdrawn from persons who were entitled to that right pursuant to earlier legislation, and consequently, they became lessees (tenants) by force of law (generally, protected lessees). The authors recall that issues related to the transformation of tenancy rights into ownership of flats and to the numerous court cases that followed from this matter have not yet become either general, or court, history. The authors cite the positions and case law of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia, and of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). They stress in particular the ECtHR judgment Statileo v. Croatia, where the ECtHR took into consideration the fact that the Croatian authorities during the transition were faced with the difficult task of striking a balance between the right of the lessor and that of protected lessees who had lived in the flats for a long time, and concluded that in the given case there was no fair distribution of the social and financial burden resulting from the reform of the housing sector. Rather, the ECtHR held that a disproportionate and excessive individual burden was placed on the applicant as landlord, as he was required to bear most of the social and financial costs of providing housing for the protected lessee and her family, due to which the ECtHR found a violation of Article 1 of Protocol no. 1.

The author analyzes the direction that the European Union has taken after the Nice conference. In order to create an appropriate & transparent competency system for the European Union, the priority on today's agenda are the models borrowed from the constitutions of different federal states. The first model is the so-called dual federalism that evolved in the US. This model aspires to strictly separate the European competency & the member countries' competency. The second option has been provided by the German Fundamental Law (Constitution). According to this model, the European Union would be accorded competences in line with the systematics of the exclusive, competitive & comprehensive legislation. The author is of the opinion that this would lead to a sort of formal transparency but would not completely prevent the overlapping of the competences of the Union, its member countries & other territorial units. A special focus is given to the transparency & efficacy of the reform process. Also, it is emphasized that a coherent coordination of the horizontal & vertical reform of the competency system is called for. Regarding democracy, the author thinks there is no need for a new model of democracy, but a systematic revision of the existing system of decision making in the European Union. Besides, a genuine democratization would not set its sights solely on reforming institutional regulation, but also on strengthening the mediation bodies. This would improve the relations between the public & the parliaments of the nation-states & the federal units concerning European issues. This would go hand in hand with an expansion of European party organizations & a more efficient "Europeanization" of central associations & institutions for interest-promotion. And finally, the author looks into the traditional boundaries between the private & the public. The public sector would take over from private economy some established procedures or would completely hand over certain tasks. This would require well-defined criteria. Also, an efficient control by parliaments & government bodies is necessary as a guarantee of innovation & cost-effectiveness & as a protection against abuse. This might help to turn Europe into a place of unity & cooperative behavior. Adapted from the source document.