The Korea Local Administration Review

First of all, this study acknowledged that the modern local-autonomies arerapidly undergoing changes from centralization to democracy and decentralizationin politics, from uniformity to diversity in localities, and from static to dynamic infunctional features, and that the local autonomy in Korea have grown very highlyand widely in quality and quantity, and its overall needs and roles such as theadministration of social welfare and economic promotion will be extended andexpanded increasingly.The definition of the Local Self-Government is that the European Charter ofLocal Self-Government denotes the rights and the ability, within the limits ofthe law, representatives freely elected by secret ballot, and direct citizenparticipation.Therefore, the big transition is the time that the citizens elected councilors,organized the city councils to rule their affairs by themselves under theMunicipal Corporation Act(1835) in the United Kingdom.This study reviewed the Home-rule Charter of the United States, Constitutionof Local Autonomy as the Supreme Law, from the legal point of views. Thishas been evolved with highly controversial contentions over the last centuries.So, this study is to review its legal background and features so as to deductimplications by looking at two principles of the Local-autonomy in the UnitedStates：Dillon’s Rule and Cooley Doctrine. Although these are directly againstwith each other, these Judicial Principles have influenced on the evolution ofthe local autonomies. Dillon’s Rule is a judgement that the Iowa supreme courtruled the state supremacy over the local governments; Cooley Doctrineacknowledged that the Michigan supreme court judged that the local autonomyis a absolute rights.Another approach is to review on the Home-rule Charter by comparing thetraditions between the Common Law and Civil Law so as to clarify thedistinction. Consequently, this study emphasizes that adoption of the CommonLaw is required the best of care, and recommends that centralization should bebalanced with decentralization, and the principle should be established.□ Keywords: Dillon’s rule, Cooley Doctrine, Home-