Non-governmental associations’ administrative claims in behalf of interests of others

Abstract

The article describes one of the forms of collective action taken on behalf of a group of individuals in state litigation. The institute of interests of others defence lacks doctrinal gnosis in an administrative procedure which caused retrieval of information from civil procedure law as well as German law experience. The aim of the research is to explore and discover scientific basis for the legitimacy of defence by non-governmental associations on behalf of interests of others, practical application of non-governmental associations powers a group of individuals by non-governmental associations in state litigation. As a result of this research, it is established that non-governmental associations’ authority to defend interests of others is an exception from a general principle of defence of violated rights. The foundation of exception from general principle can be found in exercising non-governmental associations’ public functions and the nature of the protected benefit. Both cases provide exercising of the principle of cooperation between state and society in the public interest. The realisation of non-governmental associations’ authority to defend interests of others is sometimes hindered not only because of their degree of development and absence of any criteria providing effective realisation of defensive function but also because of lack of regulation between non-governmental associations and its relations with executive power bodies (ex. the right to participative decisionmaking which includes the right to inspect and review documents, providing the grounds for the decision; the right to provide preliminary decisions or opinion expression). The most applicable sphere of non-governmental associations authority to initiate administrative claims on behalf of the general public is environmental protection.