Administrative inspection
This specialised body for internal supervision of public sector bodies oversees the correct implementation of administrative procedures and operations, supervising the bodies and bearers of public authorities which are bound by the provisions of the General Administrative Procedure Act, other acts governing special administrative procedures and the Decree on administrative operations.
Administrative inspectors verify whether administrative procedures are correctly managed. This means that only the procedural correctness is verified (i.e. correct management of procedures) and not the correctness of decisions on the basis of substantial regulations. During supervision, the inspector may only detect procedural violations and cannot annul, abrogate or amend any administrative decision taken (i.e. decisions and orders). The latter can only be carried out by the body responsible for the decision in question (the ministry or any other competent authority or court), should the party resort to applicable legal remedies against the decision. If during the inspection of specific administrative cases, irregularities regarding the management of administrative procedures are detected, the inspector orders the head of the body to adopt appropriate measures so as to improve the situation and remedy the irregularities. The measures ordered by the Administrative Inspection focus on future activities of the body in question to ensure that its administrative procedures are conducted in accordance with procedural regulations (i.e. adoption of measures on the basis of which the administrative procedures will be run correctly in the future). The same applies to the supervision of the implementation of the Decree on administrative operations.
Under the Public Information Access Act, the Inspectorate performs the tasks of a minor offence authority.
Motion handling
Motions for supervision are first addressed as information on alleged irregularities.
After receiving such a motion, the Inspectorate responds to the initiator with information about the manner in which the motion will be handled and any other relevant detail. When the motion makes it clear that the initiator disagrees with the decision on matters of substance, the Inspectorate informs the initiator that he or she may protect his or her rights by resorting to applicable legal remedies (by way of complaint, lawsuit, etc.), notwithstanding any inspection carried out by the Administrative Inspection, since the latter cannot address such issues.
Supervisions are conducted in accordance with the annual plan of work and the current orientations and priorities. If several motions received concern the same body, the motions are generally addressed under a single common supervision covering all the issues raised by the motions received up until the date of supervision.
Implementation of inspections and measures
Inspections are carried out as an internal control procedure subject to special arrangements. The inspector is obliged to issue a record on inspection findings in which measures to remedy irregularities are imposed on the person subject to the inspection if such are established. No objection may be filed against the record of administrative inspection. Where measures have been imposed on the person subject to the inspection by means of a record, this person is obliged to send a report on their implementation to the inspector within the specified period of time. Once the measures have been implemented, the inspection is concluded with the issue of a final record. After the concluded inspection, the inspector informs the initiator, upon their request, of the measures imposed.
