The dissertation is devoted to the complex analysis of the theory and practice of agreements on the creation of free trade zones, the legislation of the member states of this form of economic integration in terms of its implementation, the doctrine, practice of creating and functioning free trade zones in order to determine the existing world standard of international legal regulation of the establishment and functioning of zones free trade with a view to further development of scientific-theoretical and practical recommendations for the improvement of the relevant contractual practice of Ukraine. The author analyzed the theoretical aspects of the creation, development and use of the free trade regime, the experience of international legal regulation of free trade zones in the practice of foreign countries and the basic principles of the implementation of the free trade regime in the contractual practice of Ukraine. The existing theoretical and methodological research work and a large body of international legal acts were analyzed, mostly in the form of international agreements on the establishment of free trade zones. During the study, special attention was paid to the following aspects of the stated problem: features of modern international agreements on free trade zones; the experience of individual states and integration associations in terms of the formation of their own types of such treaties; Ukraine's experience in concluding free trade area agreements. The thesis for the first time in Ukrainian science of international law has been researched and systematized the experience of the European (on the example of the experience of the EU and EFTA integration associations), the American (based on the experience of the NAFTA integration community, the experience of the USA, Canada and Latin American states) and Asian (on the example of experience ASEAN and EurAsEC Integration Associations, the experience of Japan and India) in the creation of free trade zones. It is proved that the EU in its free trade agreements is trying to maximize the mutual obligations of the parties in comparison with the obligations arising from their membership in the WTO, a trend which has been particularly observed in recent years. The EU, under the Free Trade Area, understands a significantly higher level of integration than the classical approach reflected in universal international law, in particular the WTO's right. Free trade agreements with the US share are characterized by the same type and monocentricity, which in content correspond to the general obligations of the member states within the framework of the WTO. It is between these two approaches, in general, that the development of modern international treaties on free trade areas takes place. The author, by way of reference to practice, has proved that the choice of approach remains at the discretion of the economically more powerful party to the free trade agreement. It is proved that the legal regulation of such a form of economic integration of states and integration associations as a free trade zone falls within the scope of international economic law as a separate branch of international public law, while the beneficiaries of these international agreements are the natural and legal persons of the contracting states. The author carried out a comparative legal analysis of the absolute majority of free trade agreements signed by Ukraine since independence since the present, on the basis of their division into bilateral treaties between the states, bilateral agreements between the state and the integration associations and the agreements on the establishment of a free trade zone in within the framework of the association. It is stated that the contractual practice of Ukraine in terms of concluding free trade agreements is unsystematic and confusing. Bilateral and multilateral agreements often duplicate each other. It has been demonstrated that most of the free trade agreements concluded by Ukraine relate to trade in goods, and only three free trade agreements (with the EU, Montenegro and EFTA States) contain provisions on trade in services. Accordingly, before joining the WTO, Ukraine had to foresee at least a universal level of trade liberalization in its treaties. This proved the expediency of the current transition to the European model. However, the last signed free trade agreement with Israel directly reflects the American approach, which explains and confirms the conclusion that a more economically powerful party chooses the type of contract and, accordingly, the level of integration.
