ORGANIZATIONAL AND LEGAL PRINCIPLES OF ENSURING THE SECRECY REGIME IN THE BODIES AND UNITS OF THE NATIONAL POLICE OF UKRAINE UNDER MARTIAL LAW

Abstract

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the organizational and legal principles of ensuring the secrecy regime in the bodies and units of the National Police of Ukraine under martial law. The relevance of the study is determined by the increased importance of protecting state secrets, official information and other restricted-access information in the context of full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine. It is substantiated that the secrecy regime should not be regarded merely as an element of internal office management or technical document circulation, but as a special administrative and legal regime aimed at protecting national security, public order, the effectiveness of police activity and the lawful functioning of law enforcement bodies. The article examines scientific approaches to defining the concept of the secrecy regime and clarifies its correlation with related categories, including protection of state secrets, official information, confidentiality and conspiracy. Particular attention is paid to the need for precise terminological understanding, since the effectiveness of legal regulation and practical implementation of secrecy measures largely depends on the consistency of legal terminology. The structural elements of ensuring the secrecy regime in the National Police are identified. These include legal regulation, the activities of regime-secret bodies, the procedure for granting clearance and access to state secrets, secret records management, technical protection of information, internal and external control, legal liability of police officers and professional training of personnel. The article emphasizes that clearance to state secrets does not automatically mean access to all classified information; such access must be based on official necessity, legality, proportionality and personal responsibility. The study also highlights the growing importance of technical information protection and cyber hygiene in the conditions of digital transformation of police activity. It is argued that modern secrecy protection should cover not only paper documents, but also electronic media, automated systems, protected communication channels and official digital accounts. The article concludes that the educational component “Secrecy Regime” should be practice-oriented and aimed at developing a regime-secret culture among future police officers through case studies, situational tasks and modelling of professional scenarios.