Municipal Rule-Making as a Legal Phenomenon in the Context of the Law of Ukraine «on Rule-Making Activities»

The article provides a comprehensive theoretical and legal analysis of the concept and essence of municipal rulemaking in the context of the latest legislative framework introduced by the Law of Ukraine No. 3354-IX "On Law-Making Activity" dated August 24, 2023. The relevance of the research is determined by the need for a scholarly conceptualization of unified approaches to the creation of legal acts and their implementation at the local level amidst the completion of the decentralization reform. The purpose of the article is to explore the specifics of municipal rulemaking as a distinct type of law-making activity and to determine its place within the general system of law-making.

The research methodology is based on formal-legal and comparative-legal methods, as well as a systemic approach, which allowed for the delineation of the related categories of "law formation," "rulemaking," and "law-making." The study substantiates that law-making is a formalized, authoritative stage of law formation, aimed exclusively at the creation of legal norms by authorized entities.

The scientific novelty lies in the formulation of the author's original definition of municipal rulemaking as a sub-statutory, procedurally regulated activity of local self-government bodies concerning the adoption, amendment, and repeal of normative-legal acts on issues of local significance. The scope of its subjects (territorial communities, local councils, their executive bodies, heads of communities) and objects (relations in the spheres of local finance, communal property, public amenities, provision of administrative services, etc.) is outlined.

The conclusions demonstrate that the legitimacy and effectiveness of municipal rulemaking under the new Law are directly dependent on strict adherence to established legal procedures, particularly the stages of planning, public hearings, expert assessments, and official promulgation. It is emphasized that the quality of local acts serves as a key indicator of the level of legal culture and the successful functioning of local self-government in Ukraine.