Decree-Law No. 16/2021 approving the General Bases of the Organization of the Public Administration.

This Decree-Law, consisting of 49 articles divided into four Chapters, establishes the general bases of the organization of the public administration, under the terms of Law No. 4/2021 of 10 March, which authorizes the Government to legislate on the bases of the organization of Public Administration. The general bases of the administrative organization intend to promote the coherence of the legislation adopted in administrative matters, thus favoring the unity, efficiency and effectiveness of its action. The general bases are, formally, the assumption of the subsequent development legislation on a certain matter and, concretely, delimit the general principles and guidelines to be adopted in this regulation. The principle of legality establishes that: 1. The State's direct and indirect administration is subject to the Constitution and the law, pursuing the satisfaction of collective needs guided by the pursuit of the public interest and the defense of citizens' rights. Administrative bodies act within the limits of their powers and to carry out the duties provided for by law. State bodies and public legal persons of the State's indirect Administration are created, pursuant to article 115 of the Constitution, by decree-law, which defines, inter alia, the respective legal regime, the powers of its bodies and the activities of its services.