The dissertation is devoted to clarification the peculiarities of the development of land relations as a subject of land law in the context of the ongoing decentralization of the authority. In the course of the research, a basic conceptual categorical apparatus has been formed, the basis of which is the concept of decentralization and deconcentration, which is proposed to be considered as two kinds of components of the same generic phenomenon, which is «dispersion» or dissipation. As a result, a dichotomous structure is built up, where dissociation (dispersion) of power is the unifying generic concept, and deconcentration, as the dispersion of central governmental authority for the benefit of local state bodies, and decentralization – dissipation of self-government, are the specific concepts. The identity of legal-lexical constructs «decentralization of state power» and «decentralization of public administration» is substantiated, in particular for the purposes of our dissertation. The limits of decentralization have been defined, in particular its upper level is the achievement of absolute decentralization (devolution), and the lower limit is the level of state control over the activity of local self-government bodies. The methodological basis for the separation of powers between the state and local self-government bodies should be the principle that the state should not undertake to address those issues that can be successfully resolved by self-government bodies. It is justified the separation of the sub-institute of the complex legal liability for offenses against communal property lands, which combines traditional and direct land-liability in the said sector of offenses. This sub-institute is part of the land law institute for legal responsibility for the land offenses. The traditional component covers labor (disciplinary and material), administrative, criminal and civil (property) liability. Conclusions have been made regarding the development of this responsibility in the terms of individual components. In particular, the measures of moral influence of the labor responsibility do not have the proper level of respect and importance, so against the background of the isolated cases the use of the latter is deprived of any key role in ensuring the formation of preventive, educational and directly punitive functions of the general regime of legal liability. In particular, the measures of moral influence of the labor responsibility do not have the proper level of respect and importance, so against the background of the isolated cases the use of the latter is deprived of any key role in ensuring the formation of preventive, educational and directly punitive functions of the general regime of the legal liability. In the area of the administrative responsibility, it is proposed to transfer the consideration of administrative cases that are within the competence of the liquidated State Inspection of Agriculture, as well as the existing State Environmental Inspection of Ukraine to the powers of the local self-government bodies, in particular their executive committees. Given the exceptional role of the state in criminal prosecution, the passive function of local self-government bodies in prosecuting perpetrators of criminal offenses against communal property offenses arises. Civil (property) liability, as a component of the above sub-institute, is based on the general principles of compensation for damages set out in the articles of the
Civil Code of Ukraine, which attributes it to the competence of courts of general jurisdiction. Finally, a special land liability is the termination of the right to use the communal property. The legal basis for this is the long-term non-elimination of the violation of the land legislation, under which the local government may decide to terminate the right to use the land.
