ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL SUPPORT OF ECONOMIC FREEDOM AND ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY IN UKRAINE

The subject of the study is the administrative and legal framework for ensuring economic freedom and entrepreneurial activity in Ukraine. The research focuses on constitutional and legislative guarantees, the role of public administration, judicial protection, and the impact of bureaucracy, corruption, and wartime restrictions on entrepreneurship. Special attention is given to Ukraine’s European integration and the potential of international best practices – particularly deregulation and digitalization – for strengthening economic freedom. Methodology. The methodological basis combines general scientific and special legal methods, including formal-legal, systemic, comparative, and dialectical analysis. These approaches made it possible to examine Ukraine’s administrative-legal mechanisms, evaluate their effectiveness, and compare them with EU standards and international experiences. The aim of the work is to define the essence of economic freedom as a legal and economic category, analyze Ukraine’s administrative-legal instruments for securing entrepreneurship, identify systemic weaknesses in their application, and propose strategies for reform aligned with European Union standards and post-war reconstruction priorities. The results of the study shows that Ukraine has established a multi-level system of guarantees for economic freedom, including constitutional rights, sectoral legislation, administrative procedures, and judicial review. However, excessive bureaucracy, corruption risks, incomplete harmonization with the acquis communautaire, and emergency wartime measures continue to undermine business confidence. International case studies (Poland, Estonia, Lithuania) demonstrate that systemic deregulation, digitalization of administrative services, and institutional continuity can transform administrative law into a driver of entrepreneurship and competitiveness. Conclusion. Administrative law in Ukraine plays a dual role: it can either restrict or promote economic freedom depending on the quality of design and enforcement. Strengthening deregulation, judicial independence, anti-corruption safeguards, and full digitalization are essential for ensuring genuine entrepreneurship. Harmonization with EU law should serve not only as a legal obligation but also as a roadmap for modernization and integration into the European economic and legal space.