Simplified forms of trial proceeding of administrative cases in the legislation of European countries

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the experience of the countries of the European Union for the implementation of differentiation of the procedural form of consideration and resolution of public-legal disputes by simplifying it - withdrawal of unnecessary, complicated, and ineffective elements. The study of this issue is conditioned by the activation of European integration processes in Ukraine, which requires taking into account the achievements of European countries in administrative litigation to improve the legislative basis of the functioning of administrative courts in Ukraine.
 It has been established that the introduction, along with the general procedure of judicial proceedings, that is, ordinary, simplified proceedings, is a trend long supported by the countries of the European region, which is aimed at increasing the effectiveness of the implementation of the right to access to justice and a fair trial, which was repeatedly emphasized by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in its Recommendations to member states.
 The legislation of European states (Germany, Georgia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Austria, Estonia) was studied, which regulates the administrative court’s procedural activity to simplify the consideration and resolution of cases. The main criteria and reasons for applying simplified court proceedings and resolving public-legal disputes were considered. It was clarified: who has the right to initiate a case in a simplified manner, whether the participants’ opinion is taken into account, and what are the powers of the court when deciding this issue. Similar features were identified in the studied foreign legislation on simplifying administrative litigation.
 A comparative analysis of the European legislation with the provisions of the Ukrainian administrative-procedural legislation was carried out, and the provisions that would be appropriate to be introduced into the national legislation in order to improve the simplified legal proceedings and increase the level of effectiveness of judicial protection of individual rights in the field of public-legal relations were highlighted.
 It was concluded that simplified procedures for the trial investigation of administrative cases take an important place in the legislation of the countries of the European Union, which indicates the importance of procedures for optimizing the judicial process.