The concept of legal activity through the prism of the law of Ukraine “On Administrative Procedure”: A theoretical and practical analysis

Abstract

The article examines the concept of legal activity through the prism of the provisions of the Law of Ukraine “On Administrative Procedure” and reveals the significance of administrative procedure as one of the forms of contemporary legal activity of public administration. Particular attention is paid to clarifying the place of administrative procedure within the structure of legal activity, analyzing its functional purpose, and determining its role in the establishment of a human-centered model of public administration.

The purpose of the article is to provide a theoretical and legal understanding of the concept of legal activity through the prism of the Law of Ukraine “On Administrative Procedure”, to clarify the place of administrative procedure in the structure of legal activity, and to determine its significance for the formation of a modern human-centered model of public administration.

The study employs general scientific and special legal methods of cognition, in particular the dialectical, systemic-structural, formal-legal, comparative-legal, logical-semantic methods, as well as the method of analyzing law enforcement practice. Their application made it possible to reveal the content of the category of legal activity, to examine the principles of administrative procedure, to clarify the specific features of an administrative act as a result of legal activity, and to analyze the significance of procedural guarantees in relations between public administration and a private person.

The study substantiates that legal activity is not limited to the formal implementation of legal norms, but rather constitutes a complex intellectual-volitional, procedurally organized, and socially significant process within which law is created, implemented, interpreted, safeguarded, and protected. It is demonstrated that the Law of Ukraine “On Administrative Procedure” is not only a special normative act regulating the procedure for resolving administrative cases, but also an important instrument for rethinking the nature of the legal activity of public administration bodies. It is established that administrative procedure is one of the most expressive forms of contemporary legal activity, since it combines the normative, axiological, procedural, and rights-protective dimensions of law. It is shown that the introduction of a general administrative procedure changes the model of relations between the state and a private person: from a power-ordering model to a human-centered one based on the principles of good administration.

It is concluded that, under contemporary conditions, the legal activity of public administration should be assessed not only by the final decision, but also by the quality of the procedure for its preparation and adoption. The Law of Ukraine “On Administrative Procedure” lays the normative foundation for the transition to a new model of administrative law enforcement in which the rule of law, the individual’s right to participate in proceedings, reasonableness of decisions, proportionality, good faith, and effective legal protection are determinative.