Ensuring The Continuity of the Executive Branch of the Commune Self-Government following the Expiry of the Mayor’s Mandate

The present study focuses on issues relating to continuity of the executive branch of commune self-government following expiry of the mayor’s mandate. It is an original scientific article that aims to answer the question of whether the regulations currently in force sufficiently safeguard the principle of continuity of the executive branch of commune self-government. It is hypothesised that, unfortunately, the legislature has not ensured preservation of this principle in every case. To confirm this hypothesis, it was necessary to thoroughly analyse the provisions not only of the Act on the Commune Self-Government but also of the Constitution and the other two acts governing the local self-government system (the legal-dogmatic method). Since, in practice, this gap creates very serious difficulties in the functioning of communes, the study does not merely answer the above question but also proposes and discusses possible legislative amendments to guarantee continuity of the executive branch of commune self-government in every case.