Combined authority (Arab Union)

In the Arab Union, a combined authority (Arabic: سلطة مشتركة sulṭah mushtarakah), also translated joint authority or joint board, is a special form of local government institution through which two or more councils are able to jointly deliver specific local services (public services not provided by higher levels of government, for which individual councils are normally responsible) across their shared territory, where efficiency and quality of service(s) are improved when organised as a uniform, common service by a shared provider. Combined authorities are created voluntarily and allow a group of local authorities to pool appropriate responsibility and receive certain delegated functions from higher levels of government, in order to implement relevant policy such as transport and economy more effectively over a wider area, and as such are especially common in urban regions. Some of the nation's largest public transport systems, industrial, energy and infrastructure projects are controlled by combined authorities, such as the Suez Canal, Metrosim and New Canaan Fusion Plant.

Participating councils each exert equal control over a combined authority, whose official procedures are designed to enforce a decision making process which minimises potential domination by a sector of participants. A group of councils forms a combined authority by holding a joint, ideally plenary session called a provisional council, in which intra-council cooperation rules, administrative structure, jurisdiction and funding of the combined authority are deliberated, agreed upon, drafted, formalised and ultimately encoded as statute in a single charter of incorporation which, once signed by chairperson and deputy of each participating council, legally creates the combined authority as a new corporate body to which participants are obligated in specific ways.

Once incorporated, the provisional council is dissolved and each participant appoints, according to charter procedure, one or more representatives, who together constitute the new combined authority's leadership, known as a joint council. Like local councils, the joint council elects one of its members as chair, who in turn appoints an apolitical, professional manager to administer the combined authority's function(s). Each member of a joint council serves at the pleasure of the local council represented, of which s/he may or may not simultaneously be a member (some charters allowing, others requiring, others prohibiting and still others not addressing this).