The thesis is devoted to providing a theoretical generalisation and a new solution to the scientific task, which consists of determining the essence and features of administrative and legal support against corruption in the public service in Ukraine, establishing promising directions for improving administrative legislation in this area. As a result of the conducted research, a number of conclusions, proposals, and recommendations aimed at achieving the set goal have been formulated.
In particular, it has been argued that corruption is a phenomenon inherent in every country and every society, regardless of political, economic, or any other model of functioning. At the same time, the definitions contained in the reference literature differ depending on cultural, legal, socio-economic, or other features inherent in the specific period of publication of a dictionary. Also, certain acts that are considered corruption in one society may not be so in another. However, in every society, there may be actions that are condemned for cultural reasons, and there are also expectations placed on public service providers.
It has been substantiated that the level of influence of corruption on individual members of society directly depends not so much on the level of public condemnation of it in society but on the effectiveness of anti-corruption activities of law enforcement agencies and on the strength of anti-corruption barriers established by the state at the political, socio-economic, regulatory, and institutional levels, organizational management, and moral and ethical (worldview) levels.
It has been established that public service is a professional, systematic, highly organised activity of state and non-state entities (state authorities, local self-government bodies), endowed with a public-legal status, which consists in the provision of public services, the nature and quality of which directly depend on the constant interaction of the above subjects among themselves, as well as with business, scientific, and international communities.
It has been proven that the administrative-legal counteraction to manifestations of corruption in the public service is a system of measures of a normative-legal, organisational-management, institutional, worldview, scientific and technical (digital) nature, entrusted to state authorities, local self-government bodies, civil society institutions, international community in the form of relevant funds and organisations, which find their consolidation in administrative and legal norms and are carried out for the purpose of prevention, detection, termination of corruption and corruption-related offenses bringing guilty persons to justice, identification and elimination of causes and conditions, economic, social, political factors that contribute to the commission of corruption and corruption-related offenses. The main element of administrative-legal counteraction to manifestations of corruption in the public service is the norms of current normative-legal acts of domestic legislation, which establish administrative-legal mechanisms for the prevention and countering of corruption.
It has been argued that the legislative consolidation of the principles of independence, transparency, and objectivity of the activities of the subjects of combating corruption manifestations is a necessary requirement for ensuring their independence from external influence and effective work in combating corruption in the public service. The principle of organisational freedom of civil society institutions in the field of anti-corruption activities is singled out as an independent principle, which involves the development of opportunities for the development of civil society institutions guaranteed by the state with the support of international organisations, which direct their activities to the prevention and countering of corruption, namely the system of grants, webinars, programmes, etc.
The subjects of combating corruption in the public service, which are atypical for modern legal doctrine, have been analysed. At the level of a separate subject of combating corruption manifestations, the important role of the manager and his leadership qualities are determined. The public is classified as a separate subject of anti-corruption. It has been determined that the effectiveness of the anti-corruption policy today largely depends on the degree of involvement of civil society institutions in the activity of identifying and publicising the facts of corruption offenses. A creative understanding of combating corruption leads to the understanding of cultural institutions as separate subjects, the holding of appropriate contests for essays, posters, audio and video works dedicated to anti-corruption topics – all this is an important component of educational activities in the field of combating corruption, especially directed to students and university graduates.
