Legal Framework of Financing Public Regulatory Agencies in the Light of Constitutional Premises

In the manuscript the author summarizes the constitutional principles of public financing and the regulatory framework for financing of public regulatory agencies. On a case study of financing the Agency for Medicinal Products and Medicinal Devices of the Republic of Slovenia (JAZMP) the author tries to establish whether or not the compliance with the constitutional principle of legality in prescribing taxes influences the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of public regulatory agencies performance. In the assessment she uses three criteria: first, does the law prescribe the criteria for setting the JAZMP fees, second, does the law prescribe the JAZMP services financed by fees, and third, does the law prescribe the supervision over JAZMP prescription of fees.

Key words: financing of public regulatory agencies, Agency for Medicinal Products and Medicinal Devices of the Republic of Slovenia, principle of financing state duties with taxes (Article 146 of the Constitution), principle of legality in prescribing taxes (Article 147 of the Constitution), principle of balanced budgetary financing of public expenditures (Article 148 of the Constitution), fees, taxes, excises, tariffs