Administrative and legal mechanism for implementing the environmental function of the state of Ukraine in the context of European integration

Abstract

The relevance of the study is determined by the growing role of the environmental component of state policy in the context of Ukraine’s European integration, wartime and post-war challenges, and the need to shift from formal environmental regulation to results-oriented environmental governance. The purpose of the article is to substantiate a results-oriented approach to improving the administrative and legal mechanisms for implementing the environmental function of the state through the integration of international environmental indicators into the system of managerial decision-making and institutional instruments of public authority. The methodological framework of the study comprises general scientific and specialised research methods, including analysis and synthesis, systemic and structural–functional approaches, the comparative legal method, institutional analysis, and methods of generalisation and modelling. The research draws on data from international environmental indices, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and the norms of national and European environmental legislation. The study finds that a key problem in implementing the environmental function of the state is the gap between the formal legal environmental requirements and the actual effectiveness of the administrative and legal mechanisms. The expediency of transitioning to a results-oriented model of environmental governance is substantiated, in which international environmental indicators serve as tools for managerial diagnostics and as a basis for selecting administrative and legal decisions. An author proposes a model for improving administrative and legal mechanisms, integrating administrative procedures, controls, and liability within a unified system aimed at reducing environmental risks, enhancing the effectiveness of state environmental policy, and aligning national environmental governance with European approaches. The practical significance of the results lies in their potential application by public authorities in reforming the environmental governance system and preparing for integration into the legal and institutional space of the European Union.