Critics of the rule have argued that it imposes unreasonable constraints on the ability of communities to govern themselves and undermines democracy or that local self-government is a matter of natural right that does not need to be conferred by higher political structures .
Critics of the rule say that it imposes unreasonable constraints on the ability of communities to govern themselves and so undermines democracy , and even that local self-government is a matter of natural right that does not need to be conferred by higher political structures .