The role of regulatory legal acts in the system of sources of administrative law during the legal regime of martial law

The article, based on the analysis of doctrinal and normative sources, attempts to determine the role of normative legal acts within the system of sources of administrative law during the application of the legal regime of martial law. The authors demonstrate that the legal nature of a normative legal act lies in its capacity to regulate administrative legal relations on the basis of a set of relevant sectoral norms. In other words, normative legal acts represent one of the key sources of administrative law, the legal enforcement significance of which increases substantially under martial law or other extraordinary legal regimes. Particular attention is paid to the fact that effective law-making activity, embodied in clear and comprehensible normative legal acts, must ensure legal certainty during wartime, clearly define the administrative and legal status of all subjects of public legal relations without exception, and ensure compliance with the rule of law — according to which human beings, their life and health, honour and dignity, inviolability and security are recognized in Ukraine as the highest social value. Given this, the requirement for not only the formal quality of normative legal acts but also their conformity with the principles of justice, proportionality, and legality of actions by public administration bodies under conditions of heightened threat becomes especially significant. The need for a prompt response to the challenges of martial law must not substitute the proper quality of law-making activity – on the contrary, during critical periods, the state must demonstrate a model of legal reasoning, a well-considered balance of public and private interests, and steadfast commitment to fundamental values. In this context, the authors emphasize that a normative legal act should not be seen as a tool of administrative activity but as a normative foundation that defines the limits, grounds, and modes of exercising public authority. It is a form of objectified public will that sets legal guidelines for the entire system of public administration, ensuring legal certainty, predictability, and the legitimacy of administrative decisions.