MANAGEMENT OF LAND RESOURCES OF TERRITORIAL COMMUNITIES IN THE CONTEXT OF LEGISLATIVE INNOVATIONS: DECENTRALIZATION, DEREGULATION, MARTIAL LAW

Abstract

Background . The implementation of land reform in Ukraine began after the adoption of the resolution on Land Reform, which was approved simultaneously with the then Land Code in 1990. Thirty-four years of land reform in the country have led to the socialization of land and its redistribution among the population. Today, there is an urgent need to correct the land reform and find new approaches to land relations reform in the context of domestic and global trends.
Relevance. Relevant issues remain related to defining the content of strategic priority tasks that the state must address in the field of land relations to achieve socio-economic growth, improve the quality of life of the population, ensure constitutional rights of citizens and society in land relations, and overcome corruption. For this, there is a need to review the current state of regulatory support for state regulation of land relations and the existing configuration of authorities in this area. The relevance of this research is also objectified by the processes of European integration and decentralization, requiring the formation of an open and transparent land market in Ukraine.
Purpose. The aim of the article is to highlight new approaches to land resource management of territorial communities in the process of decentralization and deregulation in the field of land relations and to develop practical recommendations on the specifics of forming and implementing land policy under the legal regime of martial law in Ukraine. The set goal necessitated the fulfillment of several tasks: to substantiate the need for land relations reform in Ukraine, conduct a retrospective analysis of state regulation in this field, particularly analyzing the features of regulatory support; to study directions for optimizing the institutional and functional support of land relations regulation; to propose ways to improve the efficiency of land resource management of territorial communities under martial law and in the post-war period in Ukraine.

Methods . The methodological basis of the study is a systematic approach, which revealed the features of organizational, legal, and institutional support for regulating land relations in Ukraine. A comparative legal analysis of the system of state regulation of land relations was carried out; the general scientific dialectical method of cognition allowed identifying the dependence of the actual state of land relations from the level of their legal regulation. Systematic, comprehensive, and functional methods of cognition were also used in the work.

Results . The relevance and importance of focusing on decentralization and deregulation in the legal regulation of land relations, and the transformation of land legislation under martial law and in the context of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, are revealed. The periodization of the formation of the state regulation system of land relations in Ukraine based on regulatory and institutional principles is presented. The features of the "land reform package" are identified, and 29 reform initiatives affecting 4 codes and 22 laws of Ukraine, dubbed the "Land Constitution", are analyzed, highlighting, and analysing their key tasks. Factors necessitating the introduction of a simplified land access procedure during martial law for agricultural production and food security are identified. The legal mechanisms introduced by the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Creating Conditions for Ensuring Food Security under Martial Law", which addresses the urgent needs of the national economy for land plots under martial law, are analyzed. It is noted that the peculiarities of land relations regulation under martial law due to russian aggression against Ukraine have slowed down the implementation of the "land reform package". However, after Ukraine's victory, the established legal foundations will ensure the successful completion of land reform and enhance the efficiency of managing land resources of territorial communities.

Conclusions . A thorough analysis showed that within a fairly short period, the necessary legal framework was created for the finalization of land reform in Ukraine, scientifically substantiated prospective directions for rationalizing land relations in Ukraine on the principles of decentralization and deregulation were defined. However, under the legal regime of martial law due to russian military aggression against Ukraine, some provisions of the "land reform package" were suspended, necessitating adjustments to land policy during this period. The system of factors that necessitated the introduction of a simplified procedure for access to lands for agricultural production during the period of martial law was identified. Key legislative innovations regarding food security and peculiarities of regulating land relations under martial law were analyzed.
Further research in this direction is associated with the need for scientific substantiation of the system of mechanisms, tools, and methods for forming a multi-level land resource management system in the context of ensuring decentralization and deregulation in the field of land relations, as well as further implementation of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, which should represent an integrated set of interrelated elements that retain their individual significance and have a targeted orientation according to the concept of sustainable development of Ukraine's territories.