It is well-established law in France since at least 1932 that a public authority cannot delegate to private bodies core public functions, such as security for example. The Constitutional Council recently reiterated such a prohibition against Parliament that wanted to pass a bill on videotaping. The bill authorized local government to delegate this function to private entities.
Posts in "Privitization" category
A piece in today’s Wall Street Journal (Ianthe Jeanne Dugan, In California, a Road to Recovery Stirs Unrest) describes the legal challenge against the new highway to the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. This $1 billion project is a public-private partnership with foreign investors under a new law that allows private firms to build public roads in California. California is to give the foreign investors a lump sum when the project is completed, scheduled for 2014, and pay off the rest over 30 years, saving the cost of selling bonds for the already cash-strapped state.
In an article, entitled “White House to seek input on roles of private contractors, federal workers,” the Washington Post reports today that the Obama administration will begin seeking formal input from stakeholders on a pair of questions: What kind of tasks should be performed by federal workers, and which ones can be handled by contractors?
The High Court of Justice in Israel put an end to years of controversy Thursday, November 19, by ruling that privately run prisons are unconstitutional. The full text of this landmark decision is currently only available in Hebrew on the Court’s website [here]. I will post the English translation when it becomes available; however, the main reasoning and implications of the case discussed below should be suggestive of its importance.