FREE LEGAL AID SYSTEM: MODERN UKRAINIAN STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL MODEL

Abstract

The article examines the modern system of providing free legal aid in Ukraine as a multi-level administrative-legal system of a mixed (hybrid) type, which combines state and non-state institutions with different legal status and functional purpose in its structure. It is emphasized that the effectiveness of the implementation of the state-guaranteed right of a person to free legal aid largely depends not only on the regulatory consolidation of the powers of the relevant subjects, but also on the nature and quality of their interaction. Based on the analysis of scientific works of domestic and foreign researchers, current legislation and practice of the free legal aid system, the thesis about the transformation of the national model from a predominantly hierarchical-departmental to a network and partnership model is substantiated, which corresponds to modern European concepts of public administration and joint provision of public services. A functional classification of the subjects of the free legal aid system is proposed, which includes the management level, subjects of primary and secondary legal aid, as well as auxiliary participants involved in ensuring the right to legal aid and access to justice. Special attention is paid to the analysis of interinstitutional interaction as a complex organizational and legal process, which is implemented in the forms of subordination, coordination and reorganization. It is proved that a balanced combination of these forms is a necessary condition for the stable functioning and further development of the free legal aid system in Ukraine, especially in conditions of martial law and growing socio-legal challenges. The expediency of using the category of “inter-institutional interaction” is justified for a more accurate reflection of the multidimensional legal relations between the subjects of the free legal aid system and the harmonization of the national administrative and legal doctrine with the approaches of European administrative and institutional law.