The Issue of Restitution of Local Self-governments in Poland and Croatia in the Late 20th Century – the Question of Their Constitutionalisation

Abstract

The subject of this analysis is the restoration of the institutions of local self-government in the two socialist states, Poland and Croatia, in the early 1990s, with some references to the past. The key research question involves the issue of constitutionalisation of local self-government in the two post-socialist countries. The article examines how the process of constitutionalisation proceeded, which specific phases can be identified in its evolution, and whether the constitutionalisation is part of broader Central European or even broader European trends. The basic research question is: What actual model of local self-government was drawn up by legislators in both the Polish and Croatian cases? Several research methods were adopted as appropriate for the analysis conducted – they include the legal-institutional analysis, historical-descriptive analysis and comparative method. The paper is written from the perspective of the science of politics and administration, but there are also threads undertaken in analyses originating from the legal sciences. We are of the opinion that the broadening of the research perspective should be regarded as a positive fact for the analytical conclusions obtained.