Local self-government is a crucial constituent in the life of every democratic state. Local self-government bodies are most close to the population, and therefore they are entrusted with an extensive scope of powers which, if exercised efficiently, raise the level of public trust in public authorities and facilitate its involvement in resolution of important issues at the local level. Local self-government and its organization is in the focus of researchers, especially constitutional and municipal law specialists, and such attention is growing in the period of reforms of public authorities; Ukraine is no exception. The municipal reform (reform of local self – government) in Ukraine is underway for a rather long time, but its relevance is not decreasing – perhaps because so far none of its stages has been completed with any significant success which would justify its overall completion. The concepts of the said reform approved by public authorities significantly facilitate the municipal reform, and in this connection, the doctrinal analysis of these documents is an important scientific objective. If a clear and consistent municipal reform project (concept) free of internal contradictions is available, this will contribute to solving a range of issues encountered by local self-government in Ukraine. These issues hinder its further development. The purpose of the article is to make a teleological and formal analysis of the municipal reform concepts approved by various public authorities at different times, which will contribute to the codification of their provisions in one document, and also to identify a public authority which should be granted appropriate powers of systematization. The analysis made demonstrated that currently the following is unavailable: a) consistency in the annulment of prior acts when new acts with similar contents are adopted; b) clear understanding which entities are authorized to adopt the conceptual acts in respect of the local self-government reform in Ukraine; c) uniformity of generic names of the acts under study; d) accuracy of their individual names. Most of the shortcomings identified while analyzing the municipal reform concepts approved by various public authorities at different times can be rather promptly corrected – for example, by annulment of three outdated acts-concepts which are still applicable irrespective of their irrelevance, or by revising them in order to exclude the provision on municipal reform from their contents (the Concept of Administrative Reform in Ukraine of 1998, the Concept of the State Regional Policy of 2001, the Concept of Amending the Laws of Ukraine “On Local Self-Government in Ukraine” and “On Local State Administrations” of 2001). Accordingly, only the Concept of Reforming Local Self-Government and Territorial Organization of Power in Ukraine of 2014 will keep in force (the Concept of Reforming Local Self-Government of 2009 was abolished in 2012). If relevant provisions are found in the three outdated acts-concepts, it is advisable to codify them in a single document – in particular, in the Concept of Reforming Local Self Government and Territorial Organization of Power in Ukraine of 2014. Despite intensive legislative activity in this domain exercised by executive authorities and the Head of the State, it would be appropriate to vest the conceptual regulation of the reform of local self government in Ukraine and the above systematization powers in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

List of legal documents 
 

Legislation 
1. Kontseptsiia administratyvnoi reformy v Ukraini [The Concept of the Administrative Reform in Ukraine]: zatverdzhena Ukazom Prezydenta Ukrainy [Approved by Decree of the President of Ukraine] vid 22 lypnia 1998 r. URL: http://zakon3.rada.gov.ua/laws/ show/810/98 (accessed: 02.03.2018) (in Ukrainian). 

2. Kontseptsiia derzhavnoi rehionalnoi polityky [The Concept of the State Regional Policy]: zatverdzhena Ukazom Prezydenta Ukrainy [Approved by Decree of the President of Ukraine] vid 25 travnia 2001 r. URL: http://zakon0.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/341/2001 (accessed: 02.03.2018) (in Ukrainian).

3. Kontseptsiia reformy mistsevoho samovriaduvannia [The Concept of the Local SelfGovernment Reform]: skhvalena rozporiadzhenniam Kabinetu Ministriv Ukrainy [Approved by Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine] vid 29 lypnia 2009 r. URL: http://zakon0.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/401/2009 (accessed: 02.03.2018) (in Ukrainian).

4. Kontseptsiia reformuvannia mistsevoho samovriaduvannia ta terytorialnoi orhanizatsii vlady v Ukraini The Concept of Reforming Local Self-Government and Territorial Organization of Power in Ukraine]: skhvalena rozporiadzhenniam Kabinetu Ministriv Ukrainy [Approved by Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine] vid 1 kvitnia 2014 r. URL: http://zakon3.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/333-2014-r (accessed: 02.03.2018) (in Ukrainian).

5. Kontseptsiia shchodo vnesennia zmin do Zakoniv Ukrainy “Pro mistseve samovriaduvannia v Ukraini” ta “Pro mistsevi derzhavni administratsii” [The Concept of Amending the Laws of Ukraine “On Local Self-Government in Ukraine” and “On Local State Administrations”]: skhvalena rozporiadzhenniam Kabinetu Ministriv Ukrainy [Approved by Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine] vid 1 bereznia 2001 r. URL: http://zakon0.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/69-2001-r (accessed: 02.03.2018) (in Ukrainian).

6. Poslannia Prezydenta Ukrainy do Verkhovnoi Rady Ukrainy “Ukraina: postup u XXI stolittia. Stratehiia ekonomichnoho i sotsialnoho rozvytku na 2000-2004 rr.” [Message of the President of Ukraine to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine “Ukraine: Heading Towards the XXI Century. The Economic and Social Development Strategy for Years 2000–2004”]. URL: http://zakon5.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/276a/2000 (accessed: 02.03.2018) (in Ukrainian).

7. Pro vyznannia takymy, shcho vtratyly chynnist, deiakykh rozporiadzhen Kabinetu Ministriv Ukrainy [On the Annulment of Regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine: Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine]: rozporiadzhennia Kabinetu Ministriv Ukrainy [Order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine] vid 15 serpnia 2012 r. URL: http://zakon2.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/567-2012-r (accessed: 02.03.2018) (in Ukrainian).

8. Pro zatverdzhennia planu zakhodiv shchodo realizatsii Kontseptsii reformy mistsevoho samovriaduvannia [On Approving the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Local Self-Government Reform Concept]: rozporiadzhennia Kabinetu Ministriv Ukrainy [Order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine] vid 2 hrudnia 2009 r. URL: http://zakon3.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1456-2009-r (accessed: 02.03.2018) (in Ukrainian).

9. Prohrama derzhavnoi pidtrymky rozvytku mistsevoho samovriaduvannia v Ukraini [The State Support Program for the Development of Local Self-Government in Ukraine]: zatverdzhena Ukazom Prezydenta Ukrainy [Approved by Decree of the President of Ukraine] vid 30 serpnia 2001 r. URL: http://zakon3.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/749/2001 (accessed: 02.03.2018) (in Ukrainian).

Bibliography

Authored books

10. Batanov Oleksandr, Munitsypalna vlada v Ukraini: problemy teorii ta praktyky [Municipal Power in Ukraine: Issues of Theory and Practice] (Iurydychna dumka 2010) (in Ukrainian).

11. Bordeniuk Vasyl, Mistseve samovriaduvannia ta derzhavne upravlinnia: konstytutsiinopravovi osnovy spivvidnoshennia ta vzaiemodii [Local Self-Government and Public Administration: Constitutional and Legal Bases of Correlation and Interaction] (Parlamentske vydavnytstvo 2007) (in Ukrainian).

12. Liubchenko Pavlo, Konstytutsiino-pravovi osnovy rozvytku mistsevoho samovriaduvannia yak instytutu hromadianskoho suspilstva [Constitutional and Legal Bases for Development of Local Self-Government as an Institution of Civil Society] (Odissei 2006) (in Ukrainian).

Edited books

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Journal articles

15. Mishyna N, ‘Konstytutsiina rehlamentatsiia mistsevoho samovriaduvannia v Ukraini: suchasnist ta perspektyvy’ [‘Constitutional Regulation of Local Self-Government in Ukraine: Current Situation and Prospects’] (2015) 3 Publichne pravo 67 (in Ukrainian).

16. Serohina S, ‘Munitsypalna reforma yak chynnyk udoskonalennia funktsionuvannia systemy mistsevoho samovriaduvannia v Ukraini’ [‘Municipal Reform as a Factor to Improve the Functioning of the Local Self-Government System in Ukraine’] (2013) 26 Derzhavne budivnytstvo ta mistseve samovriaduvannia 3 (in Ukrainian).

Conference papers

17. Baimuratov M, ‘Munitsypalna vlada v systemi publichnoi vlady v Ukraini v umovakh munitsypalnoi reformy’ [‘Municipal Power in the System of Public Power of Ukraine in the Context of the Municipal Reform’] v Kravchenko V ta inshi (red), Munitsypalna reforma v konteksti yevrointehratsii Ukrainy: pozytsiia vlady, naukovtsiv, profspilok ta hromadskosti: Tezy dopovidei Vseukrainskoi naukovo-praktychnoi konferentsii (m Kyiv, 08 hrudnia 2017 r) [Municipal reform in the context of European integration of Ukraine: the position of the authorities, academics, trade unions and the public: Abstracts of the reports of the All-Ukrainian scientific and practical conference (Kyiv, December 08, 2017)] (TOV “Pidpryiemstvo VI.EN.EI” 2017) (in Ukrainian).