ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE: PROBLEMS OF IMPLEMENTING THE LAW OF UKRAINE “ON ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE”

Abstract

The Law of Ukraine “On Administrative Procedure”, adopted in 2021 and enforced since December 2023, aimed to unify administrative-procedural relations, ensure the rights of private persons in their interactions with public administration, and harmonize national legislation with European standards of good governance. Its application practice has revealed significant systemic implementation problems that reduce the effectiveness of the legislative innovation. The relevance of the study lies in the need for a comprehensive analysis of the Law’s implementation problems, which concern competition between general and special procedural regimes, insufficient readiness of public administration bodies, formal compliance with requirements without ensuring private people’s right to participate, abuse of discretionary powers, limited judicial control, and insufficient effectiveness of administrative appeal. The purpose of the study is to identify, systematize and critically analyze the problems of practical implementation of the Law, examine conflicts between general procedural legislation and special norms, and develop scientifically grounded proposals for improving normative regulation and law enforcement practice. Results. Seven groups of problems were identified: inconsistency of the Law with special laws in the areas of administrative services, citizens’ appeals, access to information, administrative liability; lack of methodology for assessing compliance of special norms with general procedure principles; abuse of discretionary powers due to lack of criteria, insufficient justification of decisions, deviation from practice without explanation; formal judicial control when procedural violations are not recognized as independent grounds for canceling acts; low effectiveness of administrative appeal due to lack of independent structures; insufficient enforcement of administrative acts; lack of systematic training of officials. Conclusions. Effective implementation requires a comprehensive approach: legislative harmonization; introduction of liability of officials for procedural violations; systematic training of civil servants; development of quality standards; development of judicial practice recognizing independent significance of procedural violations; creation of independent appeal units; effective mechanisms for compulsory enforcement. Research prospects include monitoring law enforcement practice, comparative analysis of European experience, and development of model methodological recommendations.