The Origin and Independence of the Regulatotry Bodies in Serbia: Internal or Extarnal Determinants?

Abstract

The article discusses the concept of regulatory agencies: when and why they arise, what is their role, and what kind of challenges they face. Analyzing a group of regulatory agencies in Serbia, the article measures their de-jure independence using Gillardi’s index. The conclusion is that, viewed through the lenses of formal institutional design, Serbian regulatory agencies exhibit a high degree of independence. However, this might be further mediated by insufficient or hindered enforcement. Therefore, in order to account for a full picture of the agencies’ institutional life, in the first place their de-facto independence, one needs to reflect on what some theories of Europeanization drew attention to – to what extent have the regulatory agencies resorted to their formally granted powers and mechanisms in practice. Such an exploration of enforcement would be a step further in accounting for the genuine agencies’ level of independence.