Government agency

A public authority or public official is a public institution that is responsible for the performance of duties prescribed by law of the State Administration and in particular for services provided by government to its citizens in the broadest sense. It is the organ of each corporation for which it is established. An authority receives its mandate from the laws of the State in which and for which it operates. In federally constituted states such as Germany, Austria or the U.S. mission and responsibility can result not only from the federal law, but also from state and local law. Accordingly, between federal agencies, state agencies and local authorities (see Local Government ) distinguished. An authority is assigned to the executive.

Concept of authority

An authority in accordance with § 1 para 4 Administrative Procedures Act "means any office, shall perform the functions of public administration ". Includes, in addition to traditional administrative sources also organs of legislative and judicial branches, as long as they perform administrative activities (eg, the President of the Bundestag, the reimbursement of election expenses or the president of a court when issuing a ban from the house ). In addition, apply Entrusted (eg, the experts of TÜV or the district chimney sweep ) as authority, as they have been transferred by law sovereign rights.

Occurrence to the citizen

In Germany, authorities appear to the citizen in his own name, although their management support is through them. The fact that they provided the insignia of their administrative support wear, such as a federal coat of arms, is now no longer the rule everywhere. The Federal Employment Agency, the Federal printing and the German Federal Pension Insurance, for example, use your own Unternehmenslogografien.

Demarcation

Both in private and in public law acting authorities or companies that take certain duties of care, on behalf of government policy.

If parts of an authority are managed as public company, this is done in a so-called self- operating. In the case of privatization is transferred to a private corporate form. In what way officials can be used in a private-sector company, regulated by the legislator. A limit for privatization in Germany offers the function of title of Article 33 paragraph 4 of the Constitution, which provides that the exercise of public authority usually members of the civil service is to be transferred. In this context, the concept of general interest recently resigned as public service mission (eg web, mail).

Authority structure

In general, the responsibilities and accountabilities and the essential workflows by law, regulation, decree, statute, rules or otherwise specified are clear and comprehensible. Authorities are subject to decisions, insofar as they engage in rights of citizens, in principle a legal review under the administrative jurisdiction; In addition, the work of authorities of the specialized supervision, or municipal supervision is controlled by higher authorities.

The disclosure of internal processes, however, is typically not enforceable, but subject to the authority; Such processes can be brought to the supervisory authority with a disciplinary complaint to the attention. A enforceability may result from internal processes, for example, arise if it comes through administrative action and / or a well-established administrative practice to a self-commitment of the administration; a deviation from this specification may infringe the general principle of equality under Article 3, paragraph 1 of the Basic Law and is then illegal for this reason.

Federal and state agencies

The supporting organizational units of the federal and state agencies are the departments or departments. Several lectures will be combined into one department, and possibly also to a sub-division or group.

The federal and state authorities carry out the laws of the State or of their country. ( The Administration may take place in its own name or on behalf of the federal government, according to the administrative competence. ) Since the countries are to form the basic elements in the federal system of the Federal Republic of Germany, they act independently within their provincial administration under the supervision of their government (which in turn each Parliament accountable owes ) and under review by the courts.

Individual authorities often called the exchange, eg tax office, social security office or forestry office.

Other authorities

Depending on the administrative structure (see Local Government ), in Germany there offices in government districts, counties, cities and towns. This is regulated differently by the municipal regulations in Germany in the federal states. Most reports to the city or municipality mayor.

Management operations

Management operations have very strict terms in general. For example, there are the following defined terms:

• A (round ) adoption is an arrangement of the ministerial administration to subordinate authorities, such as a decree of the Ministry of Culture on the regulations of certain processes in schools.
• A disposition is an arrangement with an external effect, ie to authorities other administrative support or even to citizens, such as a police disposal of the regional police chief.
• A job is any statement or communication of a higher authority ( not the supreme authority ie Ministry because the ministry is only by adopting such ) to a subordinate authority.
• A report, however, is basically a document from bottom to top. A letter from a subordinate employee to his superior authorities or even to the Minister is therefore also a " report " if it was not requested, but is an initiative of the official.
• A letter is anything else, for example, letters to citizens or other authorities.

Example: After a slump in a tax office of the police station manager writes a report to the Chief of Police, he will write a letter to the tax office and an arrangement to his subordinate to him police officers.

Quote

• " The thought well, there are no more authorities? As if it could go no authority at all! Since everyone wants to attack others "(from" War and Peace "by Leo Tolstoy ( translation: Werner Berggruen ))!