| Abstract [eng] |
The Master's thesis analyses public services, defines the legal framework in which they are provided, and outlines the principles that public authorities must follow when providing them. Public service provision is analysed through the principle of public institutions serving the people, which is set out in the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, which means that this principle is one of the fundamental principles of the state, without which the main engine of democracy - the human being - would be forgotten. The aim of this paper was to show how the principle of public service is reflected in the provision of public services and to determine whether this principle is not forgotten in the provision of public services. Through an analysis of various laws and literature, it has been discussed that a public service is a particular service for which the state and its institutions are responsible for overseeing the provision, and that the service itself provides a particular benefit to a broad section of society. The paper analyses that the concept of a quality service is understood in a different way by each individual, but the common feature of quality must be the overall benefit to society and the satisfaction of the majority of the population with the service provided. The quality of public services is influenced by a number of factors, but the main driver is funding, without the right amount of funding, a public service may function less well, which creates a partial violation of the principle of the state's service to people. Also, the provision of public services can be greatly affected by various crises. The best example of this was the quarantine imposed in Lithuania in 2020, which severely restricted access to some public services. The paper concludes that the principle of public service delivery must be based on the principle of government serving the people, but that in the event of national emergencies or crisis situations, public service delivery may be limited in order to preserve the fundamental values enshrined in the Constitution. |
