The thesis research on the basis of a comprehensive analysis of scientific and regulatory sources represents a theoretical generalization and a new solution of the scientific problem of administrative and legal status of persons who participated directly in the anti-terrorist operation of Ukraine, it lays emphasis on the problems of its normative consolidation and practical implementation, as well as proposes formulated recommendations for improvement of the current legislation in this field of public relations.
It is established that the introduction of the administrative-legal form of the anti-terrorist operation in order to protect the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, led to the emergence of a new category in our country, that are persons who participated directly in the anti-terrorist operation, and to provision of the specified category of persons with relevant legal status, such as «combat veteran», «war veteran» and «a person with a disability as a result of the war». It is substantiated that one should understand the administrative-legal status of persons who participated directly in the ATO as the normatively assigned special legal status, based on the set of norms of administrative law, the set of rights, duties and guarantees, which correspond to the official recognition of the legal status of persons who participated directly in the ATO.
It has been found out that the peculiarity of the administrative and legal form of the persons who participated directly in the ATO is a special order of origin and formation of the content of their rights and duties as participants in the administrative and legal relationship. It is proved that the administrative and legal form of persons who participated in the anti-terrorist operation should be considered as a special legal form, which includes a set of administrative and legal means aimed at regulating administrative and legal relations with the participation of persons who participated directly in the anti-terrorist operation, and public administration authorities in the sphere of acquisition, provision and realization by the specified category of persons of their rights, duties and guarantees, as well as their protection.
It is stated that in recent years there has been a process of significant changes in the legislation, which led to the approval of a large number of legal acts focused on determining the legal bases of the administrative and legal status of persons who participated directly in the ATO. It is substantiated that the formation of the law is interrelated and has common features with certain historical events, which makes it possible to distinguish five stages of the genesis of administrative and legal support of the status for persons who participated directly in the ATO, each of which has specific features: І phase (until April 2014); ІІ phase (from April, 2014 until April, 2015); ІІІ phase (from April, 2015 until September, 2016); IV phase ( from October, 2015 until April 30, 2018); V phase (from April 30, 2018 until now).
It is noted that due to the absence of a legislative definition of «ATO participant» and this legal status as such in Ukraine, the use of the «ATO participant» in by-laws regulations creates confusion in the terminological apparatus of legislation in the specified field of legal regulation of public relations. It is argued that in order to ensure the legal certainty of legislative definitions in the sphere of legal regulation of the administrative and legal status of persons who participated directly in the ATO, the necessity of legislative introduction and consolidation of the generalized legal concept of «veterans of the ATO» was embodied, which would include «persons who participated directly in the ATO».
Тhe expediency of introducing the legislative definition of «ATO participant» and clarifying the legislative definition of «combatant participant», which consists in distinguishing these legal statuses by the criteria of «participation of a person in ensuring the ATO» and «direct participation of a person in ATO», is substantiated. The necessity of introducing a legislative definition of «person with disability as a result of ATO» is proposed, to which it is proposed to include all persons, including all volunteers recruit and volunteers who became persons with disabilities as a result of injury, injury, injury or illness, obtained as a result of direct involvement, and in ensuring its conduct.
