PUBLIC SERVICE AND ITS LEGAL DEFINITION

Abstract

Purpose. Article looks for the terminological unification provided with the legal notion of the public service and methodological opportunities opened for the development of the quality of its personnel Methods. The article deals with the rarely used but deeply rooted in the continental systems notion of public service in its sense as an element of the legal technique by the use of a set of philosophical, general and special research methods. This notion has a history of development, which is outlined with regard to Ukraine and in some general features, coming down to the most damaging and in several instances still halting further development rules and institutions. The text deals with constitutional provisions and perspectives of public service. Some damaging discrepancies are revealed in this regard and proposals as to the improvement are provided. Results. As some terminology is inherited from previous legal regimes, it makes the case for urgent overhaul. Further the text summarizes in many points different kinds of jobs and professions, united under the task of responding to public needs and satisfying public demands, as it is expected from a modern state. Constitution has provided some guidance, but set divergent and partially contradicting goals. Article states, that the public service has to be armed with technics, eligibilities and other means reassuring the modern state acts adequately and timely in their settling. Current legal definition of public service appeared in the Ukrainian law with the Codes of administrative judiciary in 2005. With the time gone it wasn’t especially intensively used, though the personnel of the public agencies constantly needs attention in many respect. Providing some examples of solutions to the problems of public service the article states that terminological unification ahead of competitiveness and improvements in the approaches to the qualifications of public servants will provide for the needed move in the direction of rule of law. Conclusions. As a result of the analysis, the author aims to form the awareness that the legal notion of the public service opens the opportunity to value internal relations between the seemingly far settled different jobs in public service and facilitate new opportunity to higher qualification of the public service personnel.