In domestic legal science the thesis is the first complex research of administrative and legal regulation of customs disputes and their resolution in administrative, judicial, extrajudicial procedure.
The state of scientific research on the relationship between a legal dispute and a legal conflict, an administrative and legal dispute and a customs dispute was examined.
The approaches available in administrative legal science to the definition of «legal dispute», «administrative and legal dispute», «customs dispute», etc. are analyzed. It is emphasized that in both domestic and foreign legal science there are no clear criteria for distinguishing these categories, which is of great methodological importance.
The place of customs disputes in the system of administrative and legal disputes is determined, which is, in turn, a kind of public and legal disputes. The author’s definition of the «administrative and legal regulation of disputed legal relations» term is proposed: it is an activity to establish a system of substantive and procedural legal measures aimed at ensuring the implementation of legal rights and interests of their participants during the emergence, development, resolution of administrative and legal dispute. The latest should be classified as a public and legal dispute and defined as a legal conflict between a person and a subject of power, unequal in material terms, but with equal procedural opportunities, and which is characterized by a special dispute procedure.
It is proved that establishing a clear definition of the «customs dispute» category, its essential features and characteristics allows more effective protection of the rights and legitimate interests of private subjects of customs law. The focus on the generic relationship between the «administrative and legal dispute» and «customs dispute» concepts allowed to define a customs dispute as an administrative and legal dispute arising from a customs legal relationship, usually related to the violation of subjective customs law of an individual with an obligatory authorized customs participant represented by the state executive power or its official. At the same time, the «disputes in the field of customs» term used in the Classifier of categories of administrative cases with the participation of customs authorities is proved to be unfortunate. The «disputes arising from customs legal relations» phrase is more accurate.
An analysis of forms and methods of an institutional reform of the domestic customs service led to the conclusion that reducing bureaucratization procedures of appealing decisions, activity or inactivity of customs authorities, their officials, only to a decrease of terms of their administrative appeals to the officials and higher authorities is unacceptable. The need to ensure the equality of complainants before the law, to increase the effectiveness of this type of appeal, as well as the resolution of customs disputes, determine the introduction of effective legal guarantees of compliance with the current legislation by all participants of disputed legal relations.
The thesis research revealed that the mere fact of the presence of financial interests of the state cannot interfere with the course of the disputed legal relations in the customs field. The opposite statement may indicate the absolutization of the fiscal function of customs authorities. Conversely, the existence of another (non-financial) public interest in a particular area of administrative and legal relations does not protect against the appearance the contradictions in the emergence, development, resolution of disputes between their participants.
It is justified that a fundamental provision of the Customs Code of Ukraine on the appointment of customs authorities is a crucially important guideline of structural changes in the customs service, improvement of customs formalities, administrative and legal regulation of customs disputes, resolution of other pressing customs issues. In accordance with the Article 544 of this law, customs authorities are aimed at creating favorable conditions for foreign economic activity, public safety, protection of customs interests of Ukraine. It is emphasized that these goals of customs activity complement each other. Thus, the protection of the national interests of Ukraine, provision and implementation of which is achieved by administering the state customs affairs, becomes possible, including through the provision of appropriate conditions for foreign economic activity. At the same time, one of the principles of customs affairs regulated by the Customs Code of Ukraine is the observance of the rights and interests protected by law regarding such types of safety as: environmental, sanitary-epidemiological, phytosanitary, radiological, etc. The security function of the customs authorities plays an important role here.
