Lex localis - Journal of Local Self-Government_11(1)_January

L EX LOCALIS - J OURNAL OF L OCAL S ELF -G OVERNMENT Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 459 - 478, July 2017 Principles or Rules-based Regulation in the Face of Uncertainty – Does it Really Matter? M IRKO P EČARIČ 1 Abstract The public administrations prepare draft laws. New things always emerge that cannot be in advance framed in laws. One solution could be the principle-based approach on the local and national level that gives the most relevant principles-rules combinations in the face of complexity. The paper presents the ability to measure principles and rules: it establishes the “1:47 rule” or ratio between the principles and rules, and gives a model that embraces the principles-rules evaluation elements and their weights. By this method, decision-makers and norms' addresses could achieve decisions without the need for more and more detailed, but ineffective regulations. Keywords: • regulation • complexity • principle-based approach • evaluation elements • weights C ORRESPONDENCE A DDRESS : Mirko Pečarič, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Administration, Grosarjeva ulica 5, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, email: mirko.pecaric@fu.uni-lj.si . https://doi.org/10.4335/15.3.459-478 (2017) ISSN 1581-5374 Print/1855-363X Online © 2017 Lex localis Available online at http://journal.lex-localis.press.