THE GENESIS OF ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL MECHANISMS FOR ENSURING CITIZENS' PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN UKRAINE: THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17721/1728-2195/2026/1.131-12Keywords:
administrative and legal support, citizens' participation, public administration, e-democracy, public councils, participatory budgeting, good governanceAbstract
Background. The article is devoted to a comprehensive study of the theoretical and methodological foundations, prerequisites for their formation, and historical genesis of administrative and legal mechanisms that ensure citizens' participation in public administration in Ukraine. The study aims to clarify the concept and essential features of such mechanisms, determine their structure, and identify the main stages of their development in the context of democratic transformation, European integration, and martial law.
Methods. The research employs dialectical, formal-logical, historical-legal, and comparative-legal methods. These methods are used to analyse the evolution of administrative and legal mechanisms for citizens' participation in public administration, legislative changes in this area, and their institutional, functional, and instrumental dimensions.
Results. The study formulates an original definition of administrative and legal mechanisms ensuring citizens' participation in public administration and identifies five essential features of such mechanisms. A three-level conceptual framework, including institutional, functional, and instrumental-technological aspects, is proposed. The author also develops a five-stage periodization of the genesis of these mechanisms during 1991–2024. The legal criterion for distinguishing each stage is the adoption of qualitatively new legislation that transformed the status of citizens in administrative legal relations from passive petitioners into subjects endowed with procedural rights in individual administrative decision-making.
Conclusions. The study substantiates the need to improve citizens' participation in public administration under the conditions of European integration and martial law. In particular, it is proposed to adopt the Law of Ukraine "On Public Consultations", improve the functioning of public councils, and establish a unified digital participation platform. The findings may be used to further develop administrative legislation and participatory governance mechanisms in Ukraine.
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