Legal Nature of the Community Councils in Venezuela

Abstract

The 21st century is a historical milestone for new ways of managing public affairs, as a result of the political, social and economic transformations that were generated in various countries in South America, in which Venezuela is the protagonist with the approval of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic in December 1999; based on the organization of society for participation in decision-making on matters of collective interest. In this perspective, the Community Councils arise. Therefore, they constitute the interest of the investigation to characterize the applicable legal regime in Venezuela, according to the theoretical contributions and the institutional devices that comprise them. It is a descriptive investigation, with a documentary design. The findings reveal: since the constitutional precepts, regulations for community organization and participation were created, referring to the Communal Councils, which have been the subject of discussion about the nature of their actions, based on the legal nature; it is evident that its praxis responds to features of a mixed legal nature, that is, constitutional and community. It is concluded that the Communal Councils must advance in the legal recognition of the actions related to certain competences of the public administration, to build the administrative and legal bases for an innovative community development community management.