PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS IN CROATIAN REGULATORY AGENCIES

Sa？etak The public consultations in the procedure of adoption of regulation and other acts which impact the interest of third persons is one of the key instruments of participation of citizens, civil society and private sector in public affairs. It represents the means of implementation of central principles of contemporary public governance – transparency, openness and participation, which are especially promoted by the European Union. Those principles are especially important for the functioning of the regulatory agencies, the independent administrative authorities which regulate the markets of services of general interest, such as electronic communication, energy, transport or of fi nancial markets and similar. The article presents the fi ndings of the research on public consultations in four Croatian regulatory agencies in the period 2015 2017. The fi ndings imply that the public consultations are increasingly becoming the integral part of the regular activity of regulatory agencies, but they also indicate a modest inclusion of the participants