Transnational networks of public administrations and their impact on the national legal order (based on the example of the network of competition authorities)

Project funded by NCN, carried out from 12 April 2019 to 11 April 2022

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General information

The average citizen views national and European or international administrations as separate organisations. They believe that they are independent of each other and only occasionally work together in the exercise of their competences. However, such a simple and complete separation of national administration from European or world administration is far from reality. Over the last decades, we can observe that national public administration bodies start to create networks with foreign and EU administration bodies. These links often take the form of transnational networks of public administration bodies. Such networks create a whole mosaic of legal and organisational measures. They cover more and more new areas of social life (e.g. competition protection, consumer protection, energy, telecommunications, environmental protection, general product safety, migration and even personal data protection). Citizens are often unaware that actions taken by national administrations result from agreements within transnational networks of authorities.

The multitude of different networks covering ever new regulation areas and new public administrations means that surveying them all concurrently would be very time consuming and would require a massive research team. For this reason, in order to analyse the functioning of transnational networks of administrative bodies, the networks of competition authorities were chosen as an example for research. The international cooperation of competition authorities is developing very rapidly, which is accompanied by an increase in the number and importance of supranational networks that drive this cooperation. Moreover, antitrust law is considered to be the branch of law that develops in a special way under the influence of network cooperation.

These issues are both of academic and social importance. Nevertheless, there is a noticeable lack of sufficient scholarly discussion in this area. For example, hitherto studies on the cooperation between administrative authorities, e.g. under administrative agreements, are already insufficient for the description of complex forms of international cooperation between national competition authorities. First attempts to describe these phenomena have already appeared in Polish literature, but they are unsatisfactory. Observing the activities of Polish administration bodies, it can be pointed out that their current practice with regard to joining and participating in transnational networks is tainted with randomness. The current practice of administration bodies lacks long-term objectives that the cooperation is supposed to serve. For this reason, there is also a shortage of a well-thought-out internal policy coordinating participation in these networks by employees of offices. Importantly, no consideration is given to how to control this bottom-up and independent international activity of Polish public administration bodies.

International cooperation of Polish administrative bodies may threaten the rights of Polish citizens. There are no guarantees in the Polish law in terms of transfer of data of Polish subjects to foreign or EU bodies. This area is essentially unregulated. Exchange of information and evidence within transnational networks may constitute a significant threat to the protection of the rights of Polish citizens and businesses. Other risks should be considered in the context of decreasing transparency of public administration bodies functioning in Poland and limiting social control over public administration. Transfer of activities and part of the decision-making process to the EU or international level by public administration bodies may aggravate these threats.

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Project objectives

This research project aims to define the legal character and classification of transnational networks of authorities and to indicate the influence of these networks on the national law order and the Polish public administration. The research includes a comprehensive analysis of a new phenomenon in administrative law, i.e. transnational networks of administrative bodies, and examines their influence on the national legal order and the administrative practice of Polish administrative bodies.

Based on these findings, a number of postulates will be formulated for the Polish legislator and relevant chief administrative bodies in order to carry out the desired legislative and administrative changes.

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Research

A comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon of transnational networks of administrative bodies and the benefits and threats it entails for Polish citizens and entrepreneurs will allow us to develop a definition and classification of transnational networks of administrative bodies. We will also create an analytical framework that should facilitate further research on this phenomenon as well as identify areas that require further investigation.

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Importance of the study for the socio-economic sphere

This research will indicate ways of preventing adverse effects or threats related to the exchange of information and evidence in proceedings before competition protection authorities as part of international cooperation.

The study will make it possible to sensitise public opinion to the problem of the creation of supranational administrative structures, which, in many areas, remain beyond the control of democratically elected Polish state bodies.

At the same time, it should be stressed that the development of transnational networks of administrative bodies may also lead to benefits for third parties (outside the sphere of administration). These benefits are felt mainly by Polish businesses.

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Head: Mateusz Błachucki, Ph.D