LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT BODIES IN THE MECHANISM FOR IMPLEMENTING THE STATE’S LAW ENFORCEMENT FUNCTION: TASKS, POWERS, AND FORMS OF ACTIVITY

Abstract

The article examines the theoretical and legal foundations of the participation of local selfgovernment bodies in the implementation of the state’s law enforcement function and analyzes their tasks, powers, forms of activity, and mechanisms of interaction with law enforcement agencies. The relevance of the study is determined by the ongoing processes of public authority decentralization, the expansion of the competencies of territorial communities, the need to ensure an adequate level of public order and public safety at the local level, and the necessity of improving the legal regulation of local self-government bodies in the field of law enforcement. It is substantiated that, under contemporary conditions, ensuring legality, law and order, and public safety cannot be regarded exclusively as the sphere of activity of state law enforcement agencies, since a significant part of the relevant tasks is directly related to resolving issues of local importance and requires the active participation of territorial communities and their governing bodies. Based on the analysis of the Constitution of Ukraine, the Law of Ukraine “On Local Self-Government in Ukraine”, the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, and relevant scholarly sources, the place of local self-government bodies within the system of entities involved in the implementation of the law enforcement function is determined. It is established that local self-government bodies constitute an important element of the mechanism for ensuring legality, public order, and public safety by exercising a set of organizational, regulatory, supervisory, and coordinating powers. It is demonstrated that the legal foundations of their activity create the necessary prerequisites for participation in crime prevention, protection of citizens’ rights and freedoms, ensuring public safety, responding to emergencies, and maintaining law and order within the respective territorial community. Special attention is paid to the study of the forms through which local self-government bodies implement the law enforcement function. It is substantiated that the principal forms of such activity are constitutive, regulatory, and supervisory. Their content, specific features, and significance for the practical exercise of the competence of local self-government bodies in the field of legality and public safety are identified. It is proved that these forms serve as mechanisms through which legally established powers are transformed into specific managerial decisions, organizational measures, and supervisory procedures. The interaction between local self-government bodies and law enforcement institutions is separately analyzed as an important component of the contemporary mechanism for implementing the state’s law enforcement function. It is established that the effective maintenance of public order and public safety requires coordinated activities of local self-government bodies, law enforcement agencies, and the public. The study concludes that there is a need for further improvement of legislation, a clearer delineation of competences between different levels of public authority, and the development of mechanisms of interinstitutional cooperation in the field of ensuring legality, law and order, and public safety