The right of the individual to good administration in the context of the concept of sustainable development : legal issues

Abstract

Purpose: The right of the individual to good administration goes beyond legal standards which determine the actions of entities to which they are addressed. This paper indicates that the inclusion of sustainable development as one of the principles in the Polish constitutional law obliges all entities responsible for the implementation of the objectives and tasks of the state to act within the constitutional imperative. Design/Methodology/Approach: The main goal of this article is to present the issue of the right of the individual to good administration in the context of the concept of sustainable development. The article is based on a legal analysis including dogmatic and axiological methodology. Findings: The role of the public administration is emphasized in respect of the policy of the effective application of the law to citizens in terms of creating stable living conditions and facilitating development which takes into account intergenerational solidarity through distributive justice. Practical implications: The extension of the positivist concept of sustainable development to include the language of human rights indicates that it can be treated as a “meta-principle”, extending its semantic scope beyond the right to a clean environment. Originality/value: Our in-depth legal and axiological analyses included in this paper will contribute to the overall strengthening of the concept sustainable development. Our manuscript creates a paradigm for future studies concerning the evolution of rights and value based sustainable policy.