PUBLIC INTEREST AS A CATEGORY OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW: THE NEED FOR DOCTRINAL RECONSIDERATION

The public interest in the system of administrative law is a fundamental concept that forms the legal foundation for the exercise of public authority and serves as a criterion for evaluating its actions. At the same time, despite the frequent use of this term in legislation, judicial practice, and administrative proceedings, the concept of public interest remains at the level of a declaration without clear substantive content [1, p. 5–20]. Its semantic ambiguity and simultaneous legal uncertainty create serious problems in the theory and practice of administrative law. In law enforcement activities, public interest is often used as a general justification for the actions of public authorities, even in cases where such actions limit or violate the rights of natural or legal persons. As a result, public administration bodies enjoy broad discretionary powers, which often leads to abuse or manipulation. The essence of the problem lies in the fact that public interest is not considered as a concretized legal category with defined characteristics and criteria for application, but rather as an abstract evaluative formula that each subject may interpret at their own discretion [2].