Міська рада як інститут локальної демократії в Україні.

Abstract

Thesis is devoted to scientific and theoretical explanation of the City Council functioning as an institution of local democracy in Ukraine. It is defined that in political foreign science, investigation of democracy institutions on the local level has its own tradition. In Ukrainian political science, there are two ways of the City Council investigation as an institution of local democracy. The first group of Ukrainian scientists carries out scientific researches devoted to the problems of the City Council institutional development. Another group of scientists discloses outlined problems due to the regional research. Researchers’ attention is paid on subjects of political process in regions. But the problem of lack amount of applied research, particularly devoted to the analysis of political practice in the interaction between the City Council and community, still exists. On the basis of analysis, generalization and systematization of scientific resources, the state of scientific research on the problem of local democracy institutions in Ukrainian literature, is highlighted. Basic methodology approaches of modern political science to the understanding of the City Council as an institution of local democracy are defined. It is proved that the research of methodological principles of the City Council as an institution of local democracy study requires a combination of several aspects. It is important to take into consideration that the City Council operates on the lowest territorial authorities’ level. Its main characteristics are autonomous authority formation from another administrative units and combination of representative direct forms of democracy and citizen participation in political process. The City Council is not only a form of state decentralization, but also a mechanism of social and political regime. As a result of interaction evolution between the City Council and community, institutions of local democracy which legalize their activity on certain territories and have a certain level of trust in society are established. The principles of subsidiary as a factor of system transformation of local selfgovernment in Ukraine. It is important to use the principal of subsidiary during the interaction between the City Council and community. It is found out that the mechanism of solving important problems on the level of their occurrence is necessary for democratization of Ukrainian political process. Special attention is paid on political and legal regulation of community participation in the process of local democracy through the prism of public authority functioning. It is proved that Ukraine has a powerful legislative framework for local democracy institutions functioning. It is found out that there are enough legislative basis for local democracy institutions functioning, but the problem of lack amount of mechanisms to regulate community participation in the processes of local democracy exists. Regulatory and legal framework in Ukraine defines basic powers of the City Council and its executive bodies in the sphere of its regulation. It doesn’t usually establish the procedure of these powers realization. That is why, procedural norms should be prescribed in the City Council’s legal documents (statutes, regulations) and their compliance will provide political and legal basis for interaction between the City Council and community. It is proved that the essence of reformation in the legal field depends on the City Councils empowerment concerning solving their vital problems, increasing their economic independence, optimizing the distribution of powers between local authorities and the City Councils and as a result ensuring required quantity and quality of social and administrative services for Ukrainian citizens.It is stressed on the fact that democracy and society take their beginning from community and the City Council is an important element of local democracy and society. At the same time, community is a solid foundation of society development. The City Council should meet community interests and needs. It is necessary in the case of spheres and competences division between state authority and the City Council on the principles of subsidiarity and political responsibility. It is found out that community performs protection, management, coordination and regulation functions on certain territories. Community can be defined as a certain community which is united within one territory in order to solve common political, economic, social and religious problems. It is explained that political management in the community should be realized concerning local population interests, development and territory conversation on the basis of efficient use of community resources. It is mentioned that the City Council needs certain bodies of community self-organization to diagnose community problems, attract additional resources for solving social problems and advocate community interests before state government. The attention is focused on the functions of community self-organization bodies: satisfying social interests and needs, informing authorities of their problems and needs, realization of public control over the City Council activities, assistance in solving common community problems. It is stressed that community self-organization bodies are a part of civil society and a system of local self-government that mobilize residents to solve their home, street, square and region problems. Bodies of community selforganization can be financed from the local budget and use their resources on their purposes within law determined by the City Council and accepted solution of community general meetings’ members. The peculiarities of public control in the City Councils are shown. It is mentioned that public control is becoming an important factor in the process of decision making on the local level. Public control has its own characteristics. Control itself is realized by community (organized, unorganized) and in the process of its realization, community controls authority’s implementation of its social obligations. It is observed a tendency of communication activation between the City Council and community through the system of electronic petitions. The problem of trust between subjects of local democracy realization (state and community) is very topical when we talk not only about using funds, but openness and responsibility for decision implementation as well. The efficiency of public control should take into account two levels of evaluation. The first level concerns public opinion. The second one – processing of local decisions among experts. To solve the most topical problems of local community life, we should understand how these main forms of local democracy as local initiatives, general meetings, local referendums, public hearings and activities of community self-organization bodies were used. It is mentioned that an important part of the City Council democracy understanding in Ukraine is the index of publicity. Measuring this index, we can understand how open political decision making on the local level is and what involvement of local policy subjects in this process is. It is mentioned that the index of publicity contains an integrated system of indicators which give a possibility on the regularly basis to evaluate and compare the quality of bodies and local officials’ governance in the context of their activity. Defining the index of the City Council publicity, it is important to take into account such criteria as: the existence of community statute and the City Council regulations; the existence and analysis of local initiatives; public hearings and public expertise; mayors and the City Council deputies reports; general meetings of citizens; electronic petitions; public consultations. These criteria give a possibility to define the level of the City Council publicity in Ukraine. In order to increase the level of community social involvement, the state has to become an active participant in common projects devoting to partnership development among public organizations, bodies of local self-governing and community in the sphere of services provision. To implement community initiatives, it is necessary to monitor the compliance with the community rights law on realization of direct democracy mechanisms. It is stressed on the fact that internal and external factors influence on the realization of community initiatives on the City Council level. The first group of factors contains objective conditions, such as: peculiarities of political regime transformation; social and economic state development; specifics of state policy implementation and powers division between the center and regions; state of legal and regulatory functioning framework of such organizations. Among internal factors, subjective conditions can be distinguished: level of local institutional development of local democracy institutions; presence of real leaders in this organizations; existence of necessary resources (political, economic, social, demographic etc.) for policy implementation.