ADMINISTRATIVE SILENCE AND GOOD ADMINISTRATION: THE PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY AND THE ROLE OF THE OMBUDSMAN IN THE CONTEMPORARY LEGAL SYSTEM OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

Abstract

Good administration within administrative procedures is based on the complete and 
consistent application of prescribed principles. This paper focuses on the impact of the 
principles of effectiveness and efficiency of administrative procedures as guiding ideas 
that underpin the realization of the principle of good administration. In the context of 
realizing the right to good administration, particularly in cases where the administration 
may exhibit certain shortcomings, such as administrative silence, the role and influence 
of the Ombudsman are reassessed. Since public administration grounds in the rule of law, 
this inherently implies the legality of administrative decisions and conduct in the function 
of good administration. In contrast to this model, legal theory recognizes a form of public 
administration referred to as unlawful, inefficient, unjust, or inequitable conduct. Such 
conduct may, taken together, be regarded as unlawful. The principles of administrative 
procedure are therefore established as guiding ideas aimed at ensuring the realization of 
the principle of good administration. This paper emphasizes the decisive role of the 
principles of effectiveness and efficiency of administrative procedures in achieving good 
administration. The study seeks to demonstrate that the efficiency of the state apparatus is 
essential for the existence of a modern legal state and for the sustainability of good 
administration. Particular attention is given to the analysis of administrative silence, as 
well as to the influence of the Ombudsman in providing protection against such 
shortcomings. In this regard, examples drawn from the Regular Annual Report of the 
Ombudsman are analyzed in order to illustrate the phenomenon of administrative silence 
and the mechanisms of protection available to individuals. With the aim of strengthening 
the principle of good administration, the paper concludes by assessing the application of 
the relevant procedural principles and evaluating the impact of the Ombudsman on the 
principles of effectiveness and efficiency of administrative procedures, as well as on the 
overall realization of the principle of good administration.