The dissertation presents a comprehensive study of the civil-law principles governing public-private partnership (PPP) agreements in Ukraine. Under the current conditions of the rule-of-law reform and Ukraine's European integration, the effective functioning of the PPP mechanism as a means of attracting private investment for the implementation of socially significant projects acquires particular importance.
The research demonstrates that the concept of public-private partnership is interpreted in a variety of ways in the legal literature, being understood variously as a set of specific projects between public and private partners, as a system of state-business relations, as a distinct legal mechanism, as a form of market interaction, as an alliance, as a form of cooperation, and as a social institution, among other conceptions.
This dissertation supports the scholarly view that «state-private» and «public-private» partnerships are synonymous. Nevertheless, the preference is given to «public-private partnership» throughout this study, as it aligns more closely with current legal usage and the core substance of these relations.
Public-private partnership is defined as a long-term, mutually beneficial form of cooperation, established under a public-private partnership agreement between public and private partners, whereby investments are pooled for the implementation of socially significant projects, criteria are set for distinguishing public and private interests and for measuring effectiveness, and risks and responsibilities are distributed, with a view to achieving a higher level of economic development and improving the accessibility and quality of public services.
On the basis of an analysis of the relevant theoretical foundations, the characteristic features of public-private partnership are identified.
Conceptually rooted in civil law, a public-private partnership is defined as an agreement-based cooperation between public and private sectors. It operates through the aggregation of assets and the mutual distribution of liabilities, designed to fulfill societal needs, promote industrial expansion, and stimulate macroeconomic growth.
The advantages and disadvantages of public-private partnership are also examined.
At the stage of structuring a PPP project, it is proposed that risks be divided into four principal groups: political and legal; financial and economic; organisational and managerial; and other risks (including military risks, strikes, macroeconomic risks, strategic risks, and natural or climatic risks).
It is argued that the successful implementation of public-private partnership requires improving the legal framework, ensuring transparent mechanisms for selecting partners, and guaranteeing a reasonable distribution of risk. Developing the institutional capacity of state authorities for effective project management is a key prerequisite; by simultaneously elevating the level of trust between the state and private actors, a more resilient and attractive investment climate can be established.
It is shown that the success of a PPP project depends on the optimal balance of a number of parameters, including: the expected (potential) profitability for the private partner over the life of the project and, correspondingly, the term for which the agreement is concluded; the permissible level and applicable forms of budgetary participation in financing the project; the distribution of risk; the guarantees to be provided to financing institutions; and the accuracy of calculations of capital and operating costs as well as of projected demand and revenue.
The dissertation outlines the system of obstacles to the implementation of PPP projects in Ukraine and identifies an optimal set of conditions for the establishment and successful operation of public-private partnership in the country.
On the basis of an analysis of foreign regulatory experience in the field of public-private partnership, its principal distinguishing features are identified.
It is argued that the regulatory framework governing PPP investment projects in Ukraine has its own particularities depending on the sector in which a given project is implemented, and that, in order to derive the maximum benefit from the PPP mechanism in Ukrainian practice, it is advisable to adapt the experience of developed foreign countries to Ukrainian conditions.
