Accessibility as a Principle of Public Authorities Functioning

The article provides a general analysis of the content and essence of the principle of accessibility as a component of the rule of law in the activities of state authorities and local self-government bodies. The author offers a general understanding of the features and peculiarities of the principle of accessibility as one of the basic theoretical principles of public services providers in accordance with European standards of public administration. The article suggests that accessibility should be considered in its two meanings. A broader understanding of the principle of accessibility implies the ability of any person to directly and unconditionally have a real access to the results of the public activity of any government authority or local self-government body under conditions determined by law. In this case, it is not even so much about specific administrative services but about the efficient functions of the governmental authority as a public institution in general. From this point of view, the principle of accessibility is a special criterion for the efficiency of the public authority’s functioning, since it aims to assess the quality of “access” of a person to the results of the activity of such an authority. Concerning a narrower understanding of the accessibility principle, this means a system of definite measures to ensure the real and physical capacity of a person to receive a public service, which involves a set of legal requirements for the organization of the public authority. Such interpretation actually contains an understanding of the principle of accessibility as a set of certain standards for the activity of the body that provides public services. It is proposed to consolidate these standards for public services providers into several blocks: informational, organizational and a block for comfort requirements. The information block includes requirements for the public disclosure of information on the competence of the public authority. For example, this imples the information on the list and the meaning of the authority’s powers in the field of administrative services; the procedures on accepting documents for consideration and general stages of their passing; the procedure for appeals, etc. The organizational unit contains a number of requirements for ensuring a person’s real access to the administrative service provider. This should include, first of all, requirements for offices where reception of citizens and initial processing of documents are carried out. The comfort block is a certain system of generalization of information and organizational units with a specific focus of the public authority’s activity on providing administrative services in the most convenient way for the applicant. The requirements of this block are based on respect for the dignity of people seeking specific administrative services or trying to get advice on a particular issue without proper formalization and formal initiation of the process of granting / receiving an administrative service. The article also presents an analysis of the trends and the development of the current legislation in the field of providing public services