OBLIGATORY TASKS OF SELF GOVERNMENT AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE EFFECTIVE FULFILMENT OF THE PUBLIC INTEREST

Territorial self-government is an important factor in Europe that directly affects the lives of citizens in a given territory. Therefore, the research focuses on the analysis of the legal regulation of selected European municipalities operating in a mixed model of public administration, control systems and other factors that can influence the fulfilment of the public interest. The subject of the research is the so-called mandatory tasks of self-government, which should be the main direction in which self-government expenses are spent. Using the analysis of the legislation of countries that do or do not have their mandatory tasks defined, qualitative research that will focus on the comparison of the expenditures of their cities with the tasks defined by the legislation and a historical excursion, the most frequently represented mandatory tasks are determined and at the same time the share of the municipal budget that is spent on them is analysed. The aim of this work was to find out whether defining the so-called mandatory tasks of self-government in jurisprudence will ensure the fulfilment of the public interest and help the transparent activities of municipal self-governments. The research showed that the mandatory tasks of self-government are an integral part of a group of measures and written and unwritten rules, such as the functioning of informal institutions, control by the public, public education in the field of public administration, education of elected representatives and a legal "insurance policy" against the indebtedness of self-governments, which, if they function comprehensively, they are able to ensure the fulfilment of the public interest.