Okuzeka
Public Administration vocabulary · Government Structure

Public interest

Meaning in public administration, with examples

nounCore term

In public administration, public interest means: The general good of society as a whole, as opposed to the private interests of individuals or groups; public bodies are expected to act in the public interest.

In Turkish: kamu yararı, kamu menfaati, toplum yararı

How it is used

Used in law, ethics and journalism: act in the public interest, a matter of public interest. In freedom of information cases, a public interest test decides whether information should be released even though an exemption applies.

Example sentences

  1. The land was taken for a new hospital on the grounds of public interest.

  2. Officials must put the public interest before their personal views.

Common collocations

  • in the public interest
  • act in the public interest
  • public interest test
  • matter of public interest
  • public policyThe decisions, plans and actions a government adopts to deal with a public problem, such as unemployment, air pollution or housing; also the field that studies them.
  • conflict of interestA situation in which an official's personal interests, such as family, business or financial links, could affect, or seem to affect, the way they carry out their public duties.
  • freedom of informationThe legal right of the public to ask for and receive information held by public bodies, with limited exceptions such as national security or personal data.
  • administrative lawThe branch of law that governs how public bodies are organized, how they make decisions and how citizens can challenge those decisions in court.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Government Structure

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: