Agatina Petrović
INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK OF YOUTH ORGANIZATION IN LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT UNITS IN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA – PROBLEMS AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
The paper analyzes the institutional mechanisms of youth participation in the creation and implementation of public policies, with a focus on the local level. The paper highlights the importance of young people’s social capital for the development of a healthy and sustainable community. Through active participation, formal and informal association, and continuous communication with local institutions, young people develop opportunities to express and fulfill their rights and needs, while contributing to the overall development of the local community. The Law on Youth, which was adopted in the Republic of Serbia over 10 years ago, determines the ways of organizing youth, but there have been numerous problems in its implementation. Using the metod of content analysis of legal norms, primarily the Law on Youth and National Youth Strategies, institutional problems of youth organization are presented, and specific normative solutions that could become part of a new youth law are proposed. Special emphasis is placed on the institutional framework of youth organization at the local level, where youth offices, youth spaces and youth work are analyzed. The results of the analysis have shown numerous problems resulting from unclear and insufficiently developed provisions of the law on these issues. Additionally, the paper presents comparative solutions for the same issues in certain European Union member states and Western Balkans countries.
STATE AUDIT INSTITUTION AND ITS ROLE IN THE FINANCIAL CONTROL OF LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT UNITS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE FIELD OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
The subject of this paper is external audit, more precisely the activities analysis of the State Audit Institution in the control of public finances of local self-governments, with special emphasis on the field of public procurement. The State Audit Institution, which is responsible for external audit in Serbia, was established by the Law on State Audit Institution in 2005. By analyzing the activities and competencies of the State Audit Institution, this paper will provide answers to the next questions - why external audit is an important element of the rule of law; what is the situation at the local level in Serbia when it comes to public financial management, especially in the area of public procurement because this area is the most suitable for irregular spending of public funds; as well as how these irregularities, which are very damaging to local governments and the state as well, can be overcome.
