European Standards of Good Administration: Essence, Principles, and Governance Guidelines.
Abstract
The article analyses the theoretical and practical aspects of implementing European standards of good administration in Ukraine. The emphasis is on the legal nature of the good administration concept, its entrenchment in European normative acts, and its gradual incorporation into Ukrainian legislation. It is established that the right to good administration is enshrined in Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union Title from screen., which guarantees everyone an impartial, fair and timely consideration of their cases by EU bodies. Recommendation CM/Rec(2007)7 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe sets out a catalogue of basic principles of good administration (legality, equality, impartiality, proportionality, legal certainty, timeliness, participation, respect for private life, transparency, etc.) for member states. The adoption of the Law of Ukraine “On Administrative Procedure” No. 2073-IX of 17.02.2022 was a key step towards aligning national administrative law with European standards: this Law introduced uniform procedures and subjected public administration to the principles of legal certainty, proportionality, impartiality, equality and the protection of legitimate expectations. The study concludes that implementing good administration standards strengthens the institutional capacity of public authorities, reduces corruption risks, increases trust in public governance and ensures effective protection of citizens’ rights, while bringing Ukrainian practices closer to the EU acquis. Prospects for further research include assessing the application of the new administrative procedure rules and developing institutional mechanisms for oversight of good administration.
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References
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