“Pravova derzhava”. Issue 37 (2026), pages 443–453.

DOI: 10.33663/0869-2491-2026-37-443-453

Tymoshchuk Viktor
Regarding the category “public administration”

ISSN online: 2617-9776 print: 0869-2491

Introduction. The problem is that in Ukrainian administrative law, the term “public administration” has effectively replaced the category of “state management.” However, there is also a lack of understanding of this category among specialists, and not all characteristics are highlighted equally by everyone, in particular, in terms of the subordination of public administration to political power.

The aim of the article. The purpose of the article is to justify the need to use the category of “public administration” in administrative law. At the same time, it is necessary to compare its difference from the category of “state management”, as well as to reveal the essence of such a feature of public administration as subordination to political power and, accordingly, the influence on the legal forms (instruments) of public administration.

Results. The main research methods are historical and comparative law. The results of the study are a description of the evolution of the transformation of the term “state management” from attempts to fill it with new meaning to the dominant use of the term “public administration” in administrative law. This is not just a change of words, but a completely different meaning. After all, it is about the nature of service (in the word “administration”), not management; and about activities in the public interest — the interests of all (state, society, territorial community). This is also a combination of different types of administrative power: state, regional, local. The sign of subordination of public administration to political power affects the limitation of its legal forms by the adoption of administrative acts and the conclusion of administrative agreements. Instead, the adoption of regulatory acts is the prerogative of political power and the term “governance” is more appropriate to define this type of state activity.

Conclusions. The concept of “public administration” reflects the modernization and European integration progress of Ukraine, the development of domestic administrative law. This term is fundamental for administrative law. Its content reflects primarily the institutional component, and includes primarily executive authorities and local self-government bodies, as well as functional entities that ensure the implementation of rules, act in the public interest, using administrative powers.

Keywords: administrative law, state management, public administration, governance.

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Дата першого надходження рукопису до видання: 30.12.2025
Дата прийнятого до друку рукопису після рецензування: 03.03.2026
Дата публікації: 24.03.2026