ADMINISTRATIVE AND CIVIL LEGAL REGULATION OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION BODIES' ACTIVITY IN THE SPHERE OF ELECTRONIC MONEY TURNOVER TAKING INTO ACCOUNT PUBLICITY AND TRANSPARENCY PRINCIPLES

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of administrative and civil legal regulation of the public administration bodies' activity in the sphere of electronic money turnover, in particular, taking into account the publicity and transparency principles. The author emphasizes that publicity and transparency principles of administrative and civil legal regulation in the sphere of electronic money turnover are modern universally recognized democratic values of the European civilization, which serve as a benchmark for state legal reforms in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The author also points out that the transparency principle is of outmost importance for administrative and civil legal regulation of public administration bodies' activity in the sphere of electronic money turnover and, moreover, the principle appears to be a key characteristic of public administration as a whole, which ensures proper interaction between the state and citizens in a form that provides state authorities of different branches with information in all spheres or access to it, except for statutory restrictions on the provision of information. According to this principle, the activity of public bodies should be as transparent as possible, except for those cases when information constitutes state secret. Furthermore, the transparency principle not only ensures proper interaction between the state and its citizens, but also positively influences the rule of law. On the other hand, the publicity principle is a principle of administrative and civil legal regulation of public administration bodies' activity in the sphere of electronic money turnover that becomes apparent in a form of public control exercised over the public administration bodies' activity. The publicity principle characterizes public administration democracy, and open and transparent activity of public authorities that enables citizens to become personally familiar with the work of public administration. Moreover, publicity is closely connected with democratisation of public authorities, which, in turn, indicates the principle's intention to become closer to society and more effectively ensure efficient public administration, especially in the sphere of legal regulation of electronic money turnover. The article emphasizes that principles of publicity and transparency in administrative and civil legal regulation of public administration bodies in the sphere of electronic money turnover are not identical. Transparency means the availability of electronic money for all citizens, while publicity means not only availability, but also the possibility for the general public to discuss the course and results of such a process, that is, a way of forming public opinion, its evaluation of activities related to electronic money turnover, which public administration authorities should take into account in order to improve their work. The paper also examines issues related to the legal status of electronic money, the definition of this concept at the legislative level and in practice. The author analyzes issues of current legal regulation of e-money as a means of payment under the Ukrainian legislation. The article identifies that using electronic money allows saving on cash maintenance costs, reducing transaction time, and, at the same time, electronic money keeps having the same functions as traditional fiat money, which makes it highly plausible to get cash replicated with e-money, though such a transition still requires a developed and effective regulatory framework. Methodology. In the course of this article preparation, a whole range of philosophical and ideological approaches (dialectical, as a way of thinking based on the analysis of all available views on the content of administrative and civil legal regulation of public administration bodies' activity in the sphere of electronic money turnover; analytical, based on cognitive activity by proving or refuting the definition of transparency and publicity in the electronic money turnover sphere; hermeneutic, applied for understanding terms related to the legal regulation of public administration bodies' activity in the electronic money sphere; general scientific research methods (logical, based on ascending from simple to complex, from abstract to specific as related to general characteristics of legal regulation in the sphere of electronic money turnover; special methods (systemic and structural, particularly in the process of providing legal support related to electronic money turnover, comparative legal research, aimed at the examination of foreign experience, formal legal or formal logical). Results. According to the research results, the author has determined the publicity and transparency principles of administrative and civil legal regulation of public administration bodies activity in the sphere of electronic money turnover, where the principle of transparency allows to ensure the interaction between the state and its citizens in the form of exchange of information derived from all spheres or by granting access to such information, except for the information with restricted access. According to this principle, the activity of public administration bodies should be as transparent as possible, except in cases when it constitutes state secret. The principle of publicity not only ensures interaction between the state and its citizens, but also helps strengthen the rule of law. In turn, publicity as a principle of administrative and civil legal regulation of activities of public administration bodies in the sphere of electronic money turnover is a form of exercising public control over the activities of public administration. The principle of publicity characterizes democracy of public administration. Special emphasis is given to the need to legally enshrine electronic money as a means of payment in the legislation of Ukraine as the most convenient form of using electronic money, which allows to save on cash maintenance costs, reduce transaction time, and, at the same time, electronic money keeps having the same functions as traditional fiat money, which makes it highly plausible to get cash replicated with e-money, though such a transition still requires a developed and effective regulatory framework. Practical implications. The results of this scientific article can be used in legislative framework for legal regulation of activities of public administration bodies in the sphere of electronic money turnover. The provisions of the article may also be used in scientific activities to further investigate the principles of publicity and transparency in administrative and civil legal regulation of the activities of public administration bodies in the sphere of electronic money turnover. In addition, the paper’s provisions can be used for educational purposes, during lectures and seminars on civil, information and administrative law. Value/originality. Scientific novelty of the obtained results is that the scientific article summarizes the existing normative and doctrinal approaches to understanding administrative and civil legal regulation of the activities of public administration bodies in the sphere of electronic money turnover; knowledge of the principles of publicity and transparency of administrative and civil legal regulation of activities of public administration bodies in the sphere of electronic money turnover has been systematized. The paper also identifies trends in the development of legal regulation in the sphere of electronic money turnover.