Sushko O. Institute of Countersigning: Constitutional and Legal Theory and Practice Issues

The paper is related to the complex research of the constitutional and legal institute of countersignature of the head of state and public authorities acts. Based on the conducted research for the first time: the periodization of the constitutional and legal consolidation of countersignature is highlighted, based on the allocation of stages in the formation and development of foreign constitutions; the classification of the grounds for applying countersignature into legal and factual ones is carried out, according to which the legal grounds are the provisions of existing normative legal acts regulating countersignature, and the actual grounds provide for the implementation of its purpose; it is proposed to define the regulatory motives for the use/non-use of countersignancy (strategic, functional-psychological, innovative, financial, specific) in order to prevent unjustified (groundless) implementation/non-implementation of countersignancy; an algorithm of the countersignature procedure is presented with the allocation of its stages. Improved: the definition of the concept of "countersignature", which is proposed to understand the signing of an act of the head of state, parliament, government, local self-government body by an authorized entity that imposes legal and/or political responsibility for the implementation of the act and gives such an act legal force; a system of basic principles for the application of countersignancy, which should be legally fixed, with their division into general legal, general principles of activity of public authorities, special. Received further development the provisions on: the dependence of the constitutional and legal consolidation of countersignature on the form of government of the state; models of countersignature with the allocation of its types, forms and types according to certain criteria; guarantees of implementation of countersignature with their division into general (political, economic, social, ideological) and special.