The new code of administrative procedure (hereinafter ‘ CPA ‘), approved by Decree-Law No. 4/2015, of 7 January, in force since 7 April, introduced relevant changes in the administrative procedure, of which stands out the figure of Procedural Conferences (articles 77 to 81).
1. purpose
It is an autonomous administrative procedure phase, already provided for in the field of town planning legislation, directed to the administrative procedures of greater complexity, where decisions are taken in the Conference, thus obtaining a single decision or simultaneously, with a view to a common end (useful especially in situations involving licensing of various entities).
2. Types of Procedural Conferences
(i) the deliberative Conference, aimed to jointly exercise the competences of the various bodies involved, through the practice of a single act of complex content, replacing the practice of autonomous administrative acts; and
(ii) the Coordination Conference, intended for individualized exercise, but the same time, the skills of participating agencies, through practice, by each of them, autonomous administrative acts.
3. essential Aspects
•The realization of procedural conferences depends on specific forecast in law, in regulation or contract to be concluded between autonomous public entities, which shall, inter alia, the type of Conference, the matter concerned and the competent body to convene;
•Interested parties may request the convening of procedural conferences, getting, in this case, the competent body constituted in duty to convene its Conference within 15 days;
•Those interested may be summoned to be present at the meetings, without the right to vote, when this is necessary to a good decision;
•Meetings can take place in person or by videoconference;
•The deadline for the realization of procedural Conference is of 60 days, extendable for another 30 days, suspending itself, in its course, the deadlines for the completion of the procedures which should be practiced the various acts.
4. entry into force
The system of procedural conferences is immediately applicable, including ongoing procedures to the date of entry into force of the new CPA.
5. conclusions
With the introduction of procedural conferences, the legislature sought to resolve one of the most pressing issues in public administration, their slowness, caused in particular by the lack of coordination between the various administrative entities, combined with the need to improve the result and the quality of the decision to be taken.
However some aspects of the system of procedural conferences require implementation, inter alia, the definition, in each case, the organ with authority to convene others, as well as the penalties to be applied to administrative bodies, duly summoned, does not appear.
We can only wait to see how it will work in practice, the procedural conferences, being sure that administrative operators lay in this figure the hope that it will contribute to much-needed simplification and promptness of administrative activity.
Given the importance of the amendments introduced by the new CPA, we will develop, in future newsletters, other topics worthy of notability.
Contact:
Lia Flores da Silva- [email protected]