Variety of public interest concepts and their evaluation

Straipsnyje remiantis užsienio bei Lietuvos mokslininkų darbais pateikiamos skirtingos viešojo intereso koncepcijų klasifikacijos. Straipsnyje išskiriamos keturios pagrindinės viešojo intereso koncepcijos (procedūrinė, daugumos nuomonės, bendrųjų vertybių ir bendrojo intereso), atliekama pagrindinių jų tezių analizė bei teisinis vertinimas. Vadovaujantis atlikta viešojo intereso koncepcijų analize straipsnyje nustatoma, kokios viešojo intereso koncepcijos vyrauja Lietuvoje. Konkrečių koncepcijų įsigalėjimas nustatomas remiantis Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucinio Teismo bei Lietuvos vyriausiojo administracinio teismo formuojama praktika, nes būtent teismai daugiausia prisideda prie viešojo intereso sampratos konkretizacijosThe article aims to analyse and evaluate different conceptions of public interest form the legal perspective. In the first section of the article, different classifications of public interest conceptions are presented. The classifications are based on opinions and research by various foreign and Lithuanian scientists. The author highlights four main conceptions of public interest: procedural, majority opinion, commonly-held value and common interest. In the second, the third, the fourth and the fifth sections of the article, the main arguments and theses of the abovementioned public interest conceptions are analysed and evaluated. The author states that there is no public interest conception that would fully and adequately explain the complexity of the analysed category; however, each conception, by defining public interest in its own way, allows getting a better view and understanding of public interest as a whole. The procedural conception of public interest is criticized, because it stresses only the importance of the objective side of public interest and completely ignores the evaluation of the aims and results of decisions and acts which are directed to implement public interest. Majority opinion conception receives criticism, as it replaces public interest with majority interests, and this can determine the rise of new conflicts in the society. The conception of commonly held value is criticized, because it gives prominence to the object of public interest and states that it is constant and obvious. In this conception, the importance of individual interests and their impact on the formation of public interest is ignored. The author of the article asserts that the common interest theory is the most plausible conception of public interest, because it concentrates on various interests (individual, group, etc.) that must be balanced to achieve the real public interest which would correspond to the rule of law and common good. The main disadvantage of this conception is its lack of definiteness. The conception of common interest predominates in the Republic of Lithuania; however, it can be said that there are some features of the commonly-held value conceptio