Administrative law measures to prevent corruption: practical applications in Ukraine

Abstract

The aim of this work is to analyze the specific features of implementing preventive anti-corruption measures in Ukraine. The relevance of the topic is due to the development of international legal cooperation on combating corruption, within the framework of which international legal standards are incorporated into the national legislation of the state participants of international agreements. The methodological basis this work includes general and specialized methods of legal science, particularly the dialectical analysis method, formal and logical methods, normative and dogmatic methods. The article analyzes information on the state of combating corruption in Ukraine, using pre-trial and judicial statistics as sources. The results of the study reveal that the majority of offences related to corruption are administrative in nature; however, the application of administrative law measures has not led to a significant reduction in corruption offences. An analysis of judicial practice and statistical information from reports on the state of combating corruption indicates the lack of uniform interpretation of the requirements of anti-corruption legislation by pre-trial investigation bodies and judicial bodies. In this context, the complexity of practical issues that arise in cases violations of requirements for preventing and managing conflicts of interest is noted, and it is indicated that it is the legal uncertainty surrounding the definitions of «conflict of interest» and «real conflict of interest» that affects the effectiveness of the application of relevant administrative law measures to prevent corruption. The author of this work concludes that contradictory practices in cases of violations related to the requirements for preventing and managing conflicts of interest highlight the need for developing a comprehensive concept for managing conflicts of interest as a preventive anti-corruption mechanism. In the author’s opinion, this situation is due to the borrowing of provisions of international legal standards for combating corruption without proper conceptual justification at the national level. It is in the absence of a conceptual basis that the legislative definition of «real conflict of interest» does not meet the requirements of judicial and administrative proceedings. The author emphasizes that mechanisms for preventing and managing conflicts of interest should be closely aligned with ethical standards and must be subject to specific legal regulation.