THE GENERAL INTEREST AS A FUNDAMENTAL LEGAL CONCEPT – AN ESSAY IN COMPARATIVE STUDY

Abstract

The public interest is generally said to be a concept that varies over time and space. The article aims to present the ways of understanding this concept in legal science and tries to find a “common denominator” that could be a starting point for undertaking comparative research on the meaning of this concept for lawyers from the European cultural circle. Although the analyzed concept is deeply rooted in administrative law, this does not mean that it does not function in other branches of law, even under a different name. By presenting the functioning of this concept in the law of countries of European legal culture and assessing attempts to introduce legal definitions of this concept by the EU and national legislators, the author shows that this concept ceases to be a “property” of administrative law, but also becomes useful in other branches of law.