Methodological Approaches to Defining the Essence of a Public Service

The article examines key methodological approaches that contribute to understanding the essence of public services. The doctrinal approach allowed us to formulate the conclusion that public services are a type of public activity related to the practical activities of government bodies in implementing state functions, based on the provision of a public good. It is substantiated that the public good is associated with public needs and interests and requires the adoption of the necessary effective state measures. The integrative and differentiated approaches substantiate the need to distinguish public services as a separate institution of a public-law nature. An analysis of the legislation of the Commonwealth of Independent States made it possible to identify two approaches to defining the concept of «public service». In some regulatory legal acts, a public service is defined as the activity of a government body, which includes the performance of actions affecting the emergence, change or termination of legal relations. In other regulatory acts, the service is interpreted as the implementation of functions at the request of applicants. The dispositive approach to the analysis of the essence of public services reveals the need for contractual regulation of administrative relations related to the provision of these services. An administrative contract can be considered as a public contract concluded by a body implementing administrative and legal activities. Within the framework of such a contract, obligations are established to provide public services that the body must provide in accordance with the nature of its activities and in relation to persons who have applied for such services. The conclusion defines the main components of the administrative and legal mechanism, which include the principles of legal regulation, organizational and procedural forms, administrative methods and administrative and contractual instruments.