Abstract:

Public consultations, as a non-binding form of public participation in local government units, have been present in public discourse for many years. Those are the backbone of participatory democracy in our local homelands, and the way they are used is constant and unchanging.
Due to public consultations, residents can give their opinions or comments on an important topic for the local community[1], realizing, in a way, the mission of taking joint responsibility for these issues. This paper will address the impact of the pattern resulting from the provisions of the European Charter of Local Self-Government[2] on public consultation in Poland – in particular, on its model, types and practice of application. The following questions need to be asked: do the current Polish regulations governing the issue of public consultation fulfill the above-mentioned pattern in the field of consultation of local communities - and has the Polish legislator not narrowed, with regard to the provisions of the EKSL, the subject circle of public consultation? The study will use the dogmatic-legal method, which consists of an analysis of the existing legislation on public consultation and the views of the doctrine.