Functions and forms of activity of local governments in Ukraine.

Abstract

The Institute of Local Self-Government plays a crucial role in the implementation of democratization processes, since it provides for the comprehensive implementation of the decisions of the official authorities in the cities and thus fulfills a very important function – ensuring the constitutional order in the state.

The Ukrainian state has taken a number of strategic steps, for example, declaring the development of local self-government at the level of guarantees of the Constitution of Ukraine, adopted the Law of Ukraine “About Local Self-Government in Ukraine” (which aims to fully implement the democratic provisions of the European Charter of Local Self-Government ratified in 1997), however, local government continues to remain in its original state.

The article attempts to formulate general ideas about the relationship between declared functions and the political and legal regulation of their implementation, it is determined that at the present stage, the complexity lies in the fact that competence involves the implementation of local government functions that they can perform for their own resources.

Based on the study of the legal foundations of the functioning of local selfgovernment in Ukraine at the present stage, the author states that the conflict is that it is extremely difficult to find at the regulatory level the balance between state interference with local self-government and the attempts of the latter to constantly increase its autonomy from such interference.

It is proved that in general the mentioned problem in Ukraine is solved very specificly. According to the Constitution of Ukraine, territorial communities or selfgovernment bodies established by them independently decide on property, communal, budgetary and economic issues, but according to the Law of Ukraine “About Local Self-Government in Ukraine” this policy is implemented through representative bodies of local self-government, which are mostly formed and defined by the state. It is indicated that an important disadvantage is that the primary subject of local self-government, the main carrier of its functions and powers is the territorial community of the village, settlement, city. On the other hand, according to Clause 5 of Art. 6 of the Law of Ukraine “About Local Self-Government in Ukraine”, in cities with district division of the territorial community of districts in cities act as subjects of property rights. And this automatically means their inclusion in the functional sphere of local self-government, which in practice almost does not occur. The functions of local self-government, which are reduced to the forms of its activity, which clearly demonstrate the full effectiveness of self-governing institutions, are determined.

It is substantiated that at the legislative level somewhat superficially gives the status of acts and procedures on the management of local self-government bodies. In other words, the law gives self-governing bodies an administrative function, however, their normative acts of such activity are largely limited in nature. The root of limitation is determined, and it consists in the fact that decisions are coming down from above and are always binding for its implementation, at the same time, the decision of local authorities is not mandatory.

It is determined that decisions of local self-government bodies should be procedural, where they mean the implementation of certain established traditions and norms, and not be dictated from above. Foreign experience regarding the functional purpose of local self-government is considered. It turns out that the European tradition of local self-government is a “state in miniature”, where the latter functions as a state institution, has a form of activity similar to the central government, but its competence and influence are limited to a certain territory.