The article identifies the peculiarities of the educational services provision in the region in the conditions of decentralization of power. It has been found out that at the present stage of state development, higher education is the driving force for changing and updating the country's social and economic status. Therefore, investment in higher education is the main factor by which the state influences not only the quality of educational services and the state of universities, but also the development of the economy as a whole. It has been found that the state plays an important role in organizing educational services at the regional level of the country, forming the legal field and financing the educational sector. The regulatory activities of the state can be implemented at the stage of planning, motivating, and organizing and include regulating and streamlining of socio-economic processes in higher education, guiding them in certain directions in accordance with certain goals and priorities, eliminating contradictions, obstacles, and deviations by appropriate measures. It has been found out that the regionalization of education, especially in the context of the decentralization of power, can be considered as a tool to achieve compliance with the educational needs of the region through the revitalization of its internal development resources.In turn, the educational needs of the region should be formed by means of education of those personal qualities that contribute to self-realization and vigorous civic activity.It has been determined that an important problem in the organization of educational services at all levels is accessability of education, which is socially acute with a transition to the level of higher education, which is not mandatory, but critically expedient and necessary prerequisite for ensuring quality life, social stability and prospects.It has been highlighted that in order to improve the performance of universities, there is an urgent need for the formation of a comprehensive system for managing the career process, which includes interrelated goals, functions, principles, structure and staffing.It has been concluded that establishing and ensuring the effective functioning of the mechanisms of regional management by education, especially higher education, will contribute to the formation of the level of educational services of a new type capable of introducing new principles and approaches into the practice of their activities, a new organizational culture, new technologies that will become essential components of intellectual technological infrastructure of the regional economy.
The reform of education in Ukraine has been found to be consistent with the reform of decentralization. It is determined that in the process of decentralization reform, communities have an important strategic task – creating education management. It has been stated that the transfer of financial authority to the local level can help Ukraine to move away from the previous system of planning and implementation of educational policy by reducing the gap between operational and financial management, and the involvement of local authorities and schools in the decision-making process should improve the allocation of budgetary resources. In turn, this should lead to increased access to quality education, especially in more remote areas of Ukraine. It is emphasized that in the context of decentralization, the decision to open and close schools is taken by the communities based on their capabilities and needs, and no one except the village, town or city mayor and his assistants knows where the school should be, where the kindergarten should be, which school provides quality knowledge and which does not have sufficient resources to provide quality educational services and no official from the regional state administration or the Ministry of Education has a better situation than them. Accordingly, the optimization of the school network is only partly an initiative of the central government – every community can refuse to close even the smallest schools if it can and wants to finance them. The financial aspect of decentralization of the education system in Ukraine is fundamental, because not all communities are currently capable. The main objective of the CTA is to reduce the costs of maintaining educational institutions along with improving the quality of educational services. For this purpose in Ukraine the process of creation of reference schools is actively proceeding. The article examines successful examples of management of educational networks of creation in some newly created RTGs of Zaporizhzhya region, namely Priazovskaya, Girsivska and Orikhovska. Supportive schools have already been established and are operating successfully in each of these integrated territorial communities. These steps have significantly reduced the cost of maintaining educational institutions. All educators who wanted to continue their work were employed in reforming.
It has been identified that in the process of decentralization reform, united territorial communities have a very important strategic task - the creation of an educational management mechanism. It is stated that the purpose of reforming education under decentralization is first and foremost the transfer of powers and responsibility for managing education to local governments and directly to schools. An important aspect of the decentralization of the education system is the study of the principles of decentralization in education. The transfer of authority and responsibility for financing and managing education to territorial communities is a key aspect of reform. The decentralized type leaves most of the educational tasks to local governments and is based on the principle that each member of the community (parent, educator, teacher and teacher), as a taxpayer, alone addresses the educational needs of children in local communities and schools, and will be an impetus to improving the level of education in institutions of one community. It is established that the principles of decentralization in the management of education are based on: financial motives, efficiency motives, political motives. The financial aspect of the decentralization of the education system in Ukraine is fundamental, because not all communities are currently capable. The main objective of the CTA is to reduce the costs of maintaining educational institutions along with improving the quality of educational services. For this purpose, the process of establishing reference schools is actively ongoing in Ukraine. The problem of a small number of students in small towns and villages will be solved by such optimization of the school network. Decentralization of government diminishes the amount of decision-making by the state, delegating some powers in individual areas to nonexecutive and non-executive regional authorities. Decentralization of governance is one aspect of the application of European experience in the development of education. The redistribution of functions by the education system has a great influence on improving the level of higher education in Ukraine and bringing it closer to the European level of education. We believe that decentralization in the management of education can be accomplished only in complex: between the head of the educational institution and the educators, between the authorities and consumers of educational services, between the state and civil society, between the state executive power and local self-government.
The article provides an analysis of the standard of proof «reasonable suspicion» in practice of the European Court of Human Rights (further referred to as ECtHR), which is recognized as a source of law in Ukraine next to the European Convention of Human Rights (further referred to as ECHR). It is argued that a concept of standards of proof is relatively new in Ukrainian legislation, where no legal definition of particular standards is provided. National courts face complexities in application of the «reasonable suspicion» standard that leads to systemic violations of fundamental rights and numerous cases before the ECtHR versus Ukraine. Based on systemic analysis of academic literature and practice of the ECtHR regarding «reasonable suspicion» standard, that is applicable while a breach of Article 5 of the ECHR is at stake, the authors have elaborated criteria of the reasonableness of the suspicion in criminal proceedings that can serve a guidance for the national courts. Reasonable suspicion of committing an offence can be defined as an aggregation of facts and information capable to persuade an objective observer that the person may have committed an offence. Despite evidence to satisfy the reasonable suspicion standard shall not be of the same level as required for justification of the criminal charge or the conviction, reasonable suspicion cannot be of purely subjective nature, it shall not be described in abstract terms either. Finally, the standard of proof «reasonable suspicion» is of dynamic nature. The longer the period of fundamental rights limitation is the stronger justifications for such interventions are required. Even while rendering the first decision ordering the detention on remand, national courts shall substantiate not only the persistence of reasonable suspicion, but justify with evidence an existence of «relevant» and «sufficient» reasons for the detention. In this article existence of evidence at the pre-trial stage is consistently demonstrated, that is supported by numerous cases of the ECtHR regarding «reasonable suspicion» standard.
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.