Rafał Stasikowski, Funkcja regulacyjna administracji publicznej. Studium z zakresu nauki prawa administracyjnego oraz nauki administracji [The regulatory function of public administration. A study of the science of administrative law and the science of administration] Branta Publishing Company, Bydgoszcz 2009, 336 p.

Abstract

The last twenty years can be described as a period of development of the so-called information society, i.e. a type of society characterized by a new shape of social and economic relationships. The information society has emerged as a result of ongoing technological progress accompanied by a global crisis of the welfare state theory. The opportunities accompanying technical progress, globalization and the growing costs of the direct provision of public services, covered by states with increasing effort only, caused the beginning of the demonopolization and privatization of infrastructure sectors (state monopoly domain) in Europe at the end of the 1980ties. Services provided by network sectors used to be called public services. They were traditionally provided by public administration or through an agency of companies closely connected to public administration. As a result of the abandonment of the support policy for state monopolies in sectors important to them, it was necessary to create a new regulatory system adequate to the occurring changes. In addition, fundamental modifications of the state regulatory authorities were needed. The liberalization process created the danger of market dominance by former monopolies as well as a risk that the market itself would not have been able to open a way to free competition. It was agreed that removing trade barriers required the creation and enforcement of clear competition rules. In the initial stage of liberalization, state intervention was needed for an optimal allocation of resources, which would have been impossible considering the strong position held by incumbents and the relicense on market forces only. It was also clear that the liberalization of network services markets could not proceed without some degree of control exercised by public authorities responsible for the provision of access to basic network services.