The boundaries of public legal personality: criteria for identifying public entities and applying administrative law

The evolution of public administration's organizational models has further blurred the long-debated distinction between public and private legal personality. Alongside the traditional diversity of public bodies, recent decades have witnessed the proliferation of entities formally established under private law but functionally integrated into the public administrative system. This development has made it increasingly difficult to identify the criteria for recognizing public legal personality and, consequently, for determining the applicable legal regime. Against this background, the proposed research examines the criteria currently used to identify public legal personality, assessing their consistency with constitutional, European Union and international principles, as well as with the principle of good administration. It also aims to develop alternative theoretical frameworks and proposals for legislative reform, drawing on comparative law where appropriate.