The dissertation provides a theoretical generalisation and a new solution to the scientific task of defining the essence and disclosing the specific features of financial and legal protection of military personnel and formulating proposals for its improvement, based on current legislation, modern scientific views of scholars and the practice of financing the rights and obligations of military personnel.
The problematic issues related to the financial provision of social rights and obligations of the military personnel are outlined, since the legislation does not contain the concept of «financial and legal protection», «social protection», and «social obligation», «social services», etc., which indicates the need to characterise a separate group of relations which determine financial and legal protection as legal relations which, by the subject matter of legal regulation, content and purpose, are inherent in the science of financial law.
It is proved that financial and legal protection as a new category of financial and legal science requires definition, identification of the essence and significance for the financial activities of the State, especially under martial law. The author proposes an original approach to the definition of the concept of «financial and legal protection». In addition, the concepts of «financial and legal protection» and «social protection» are distinguished.
The purpose, objectives and implementation features of the financial and legal protection of servicemen in the social and legal protection of military personnel are determined. It is emphasised that the purpose of financial and legal protection of servicemen is realised in the course of fulfilling the tasks of the State in allocating and using budget expenditures and other social funds to finance measures ensuring social protection of servicemen: firstly, financing of social standards and State social guarantees, and secondly, financing of special social rights of servicemen. Furthermore, it is highlighted that the task of financial and legal protection is implemented in the formula of financial and legal protection of military personnel, which can be defined as the sum of expenditures which combines expenditures for financing social rights of citizens and expenditures for financing special social rights.
It is determined that the implementation of financial and legal protection of servicemen is the normative legal regulators of financial and legal influence aimed at achieving the goal of financial and legal protection - social protection, social security and use of the social sphere by servicemen as citizens of Ukraine and as citizens with special social rights, as well as at removing obstacles which impede the achievement of this goal.
Moreover, such principles of financial and legal protection of military personnel as the following are identified and characterised: targeted allocation of budgetary funds to finance special social rights of military personnel; financial sufficiency of budgetary funds; targeted allocation; availability and sufficiency of compensation payments are highlighted and described.
The system of current legislation, financial legislation and the composition of budgetary legislation in the context of martial law in Ukraine are analysed and it is stated that the legal basis for the implementation of financial and legal protection of servicemen is a two-tier system of regulations based on the constitutional principles of the State's budgetary activities and departmental acts of subordinate legislation and law enforcement.
At the same time, it is determined that the financial and legal status of a serviceman is a complex legal structure which, in the system of legal relations prevailing in society, is characterised by the dialectical interconnection of the general (universal), special, separate and individual, and which, according to the logical construction in legal relations, is characterised by the legal status - general, special - the legal status of a serviceman, separate - the financial and legal status of a serviceman, and individual - a personified individual.
Thus, it is stated that the legal status of servicemen determines the complex conditions for the exercise of military legal capacity, and the financial and legal status of servicemen determines their right to special rights - financial payments, which emphasizes the specificity of servicemen's relations with the State with regard to the movement of public financial resources, and the amount and types of these financial resources allocated to servicemen on the basis of budget laws create conditions for financial protection. It is proved that in order to implement the financial and legal protection of servicemen, i.e., to acquire the right to financial support, benefits, compensation, guarantees, it is necessary to implement both the legal status of servicemen and their financial and legal status.
