LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN UKRAINE: DOCTRINAL AND LEGISLATIVE ASPECTS

Abstract

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the legal framework governing the digital transformation of public administration in Ukraine in the context of European integration and postwar recovery. It is substantiated that digital transformation should not be perceived solely as the introduction of information and communication technologies into public governance, but rather as a profound institutional and functional restructuring of public authority mechanisms. The author argues that the current administrative legislation of Ukraine contains fragmented provisions concerning digital procedures, which necessitates the development of a coherent regulatory model for electronic governance and digital public administration. The study examines the correlation between the concepts of “digital state,” “e-governance,” “digital public administration,” and “electronic administrative procedure.” It is established that the fundamental principles of digital transformation must include the rule of law, technological neutrality, interoperability of state registers, protection of personal data, cybersecurity, transparency, accountability, and effective judicial protection of individual rights in digital environments. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the author’s proposal to systematize digital administrative procedures through the codification of relevant provisions within the Law of Ukraine “On Administrative Procedure” and the development of a framework Law of Ukraine “On Digital Public Administration.” The article outlines the structural components of such legislation, including regulation of algorithmic decision-making, automated administrative proceedings, legal status of artificial intelligence tools in public governance, and mechanisms for appealing digital decisions adopted by public authorities. The author concludes that Ukraine must move from declarative digitalization policies to a doctrinally grounded model of a digital rule-of-law state, in which technological instruments serve as guarantees of human rights and procedural fairness rather than as substitutes for legal accountability.