The thesis is the first complex scientific research dedicated to the creation of a new scientifically grounded concept of the legal regime of a seaport on the basis of the international standards and the best world and European practices of port activity, formulating the conclusions and the proposals aimed at improving the system of legal and organizational support of public administration of port activities in Ukraine. This is the first time in the thesis: the scientific concept of administratively-legal regimes in maritime legislation has been described on the basis of the theoretical developments, the legislation and the international agreements; the place of the seaport regime has been determined in the system of the administratively-legal regimes; the scientific views, the experience of national and international rule-making have been systematized in the formation, determination and public administration of legal regimes of seaports; methods and forms of public administration of the legal regime of a seaport have been singled out and classified. In addition, it is the first time an integral concept has been formulated of the general (complex) regime of a seaport, its components and functions have been defined; the current legal regime has been analyzed of foreign vessels and vessels under the Ukrainian flag in the seaports of Ukraine; the mechanism, the subjects and the peculiarities of public administration of the legal regime of the seaport of Ukraine have been characterized. The analysis of the practice of states, the theoretical developments and the work of the international institutions on the development of generally accepted legal norms in the sphere of establishing the regimes of seaports, certified the passing of several stages: the initial stage, codification stage, the stage of development of international norms on the regime of seaports. Based on the processing of the normatively-legal regulation of the seaport regime, it is proved that the system of modern international and national legal support of the seaport regime forms a block of the international agreements, the national legislation, the acts of local regulation. It has been noted that the regime of the area of water of a seaport is established by the norms of the national legislation of the coastal state due to its belonging to the internal waters and is a component of the general (complex) regime of a seaport. The regime of the land territory of the seaport of Ukraine is a component of the legal regime of a seaport, characterized by the opening of checkpoints across the state border of Ukraine and the action of the relevant regime. Based on the processing of the dynamics of the development of the institutional system of ensuring compliance with the seaport regime, both national and international governing institutions are included in the system of public administration of the legal regime of the seaports of Ukraine. International (global, regional) and national levels of public administration of the legal regime of the seaports of Ukraine have been highlighted.
It has been proposed to add to the previously developed principles of the execution of jurisdiction of a coastal state and a port state the principle of preserving the balance of the rights of a port state and a state flag of a ship with the provision of reasonableness, proper adaptation, adaptability to everyday use and unobtrusiveness of applicable formalities for the purpose of their conscientious observance and execution. It has been proved that the regime for vessels in the seaports of Ukraine is a component of the general (complex) regime of a seaport. It combines several types of regimes, operating simultaneously with a vessel and through this action ensures the necessary order in a seaport. It is lain to their sphere within: sanitary, border, customs regimes, regime of payment of port fees, security regime, combining the regimes of pilot and icebreaker carrying, Port State Control procedures, regulation of vessel movement and the regime of ensuring the safety of vessels from terrorist threats in accordance with ISPS Code.
In the work it is also proposed the amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Seaports of Ukraine” on determining the procedure for opening/closing seaports for foreign shipping; development of legislation on artificial territories within the seaports of Ukraine as specific in legal status and legal regime, as well as the procedure for their classification into the category of permanent port facilities; directions of improvement of the program documents of long-term planning of the development of maritime industry of Ukraine and the current branch legislation.
