| Abstract [eng] |
The master's thesis examines the change of the mayor's powers in local self-government. This context is important because from the regaining of Independence to the present day, the structural models of the municipality have changed, as well as the powers of the mayor. Throughout this period, the mayor was both the head of the municipality, its executive body, and part of the representative body. This paper reveals how and what influenced the changes in the mayor's powers throughout the period of Independence, but it is important to take into account the fact that both the theoretical and practical parts of the final work are strongly focused on starting from 2023. April 1 the amendment of the Law on Local Self-Government that came into effect and the change in the model of the municipal structure, when the mayor became a one-person executive institution that took over the public administration powers of the executive institution. The theoretical part of the thesis discusses the structural models of the municipality, which changed 4 times in Lithuania, as well as the need for personal competences when the powers change. The discussed main factors of the change of the mayor's powers are important for the entire change of the mayor's powers, and most of all after 2023. April 1 after the amendment of the Law on Local Self-Government came into force, the mayor became a sole executive institution from the part of the representative institution. The main factors identified are: the leadership of the mayor, direct elections of the mayor, interaction between the mayor and the municipal council, the work highlights why they are important and what influence they have on the change and the work of the municipal institutions after the changes have already taken place. The methodological part of the thesis presents its justification, based on the material collected in the theoretical part, and indicates the 2 methods used during the research: analysis of documents and legal acts and semi-structured interviews. It is indicated what research methods were applied, research samples and criteria, research organization and course, and research ethics. The third final part of the work presents the results of the analysis of legal documents and the results of semi-structured interviews conducted with the mayors and representatives of the majority and the opposition. The data collected during the analysis of documents and legal acts confirm that the basis of the mayor's powers, together with the structural models of the municipality, changed 4 times, also, the mayor's powers were also changed when correcting certain parts of the Law on Local Self-Government, relevant in 13 editions, when the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania took the initiative for changes , to the Constitutional Court. The data obtained during the interviews reveal that both mayors and members of the municipal council notice that after the mayor became an executive authority, his administrative burden increased significantly, that the changes in the mayor's powers were influenced by the need for leadership and the introduction of direct mayoral elections, and also, from the mayors' side, they notice that there has been a change the attitude of the councilors towards the mayor and that the current model needs to be changed by returning the mayor to be a councilor again. Taking into account the aspects presented in the theoretical and empirical part of the work, recommendations were made to the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania - to more actively involve representatives of local self-government in policy formation and decision-making related to the powers of municipal institutions, as well as to the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania - to improve legal regulation, for the mayor to become a member of the council again , part of the representative body. |
