A Conceptualization of Public Interest: A Droit Public Économiqué Perspective

Public interest is one of the deep constructs and essential aspects in legislation, policymaking, and administrative decision-making, which intricately relate to the mechanisms governing public order and the provision of public services, constituting the basis of modern public law. Within the paradigm of Droit Public Économiqué (DPE), the concept of public interest pertains to the collective welfare of the general public concerning economic matters. It is formulated within legal frameworks and regulations governing economic activities with the aim of promoting these interests in the economic sphere. This formulation necessitates navigating conflicting priorities, finding a balance between competing necessities, and engaging with various stakeholders and their interests. This research, conducted through a descriptive, analytical, and comparative approach, utilizing library resources, examines the concept of public interest, its scope, and its evolution in the 19th and 20th centuries within various legal systems and philosophical-political schools. It should be noted that the concept of public interest is open to interpretation which could yield diverse understandings depending on social values, cultural norms, and political ideologies. Furthermore, the extent of public interest and the scope of state intervention in safeguarding and promoting it is often controversial within the discourse of modern DPE. Prominent characteristics of public interest include its pervasiveness across various domains of social life as a public right and in the fabric of civil society organization, as well as its close connection with other constituting constructs of public law, economics, and politics in safeguarding other public rights.