The principle of «good governance» in the practice of the ECHR in the context of resolving land disputes in Ukraine

The use, distribution, and protection of land in Ukraine is closely connected with the activities of public authorities. Due to the increased significance of land resources for Ukraine as objects of civil turnover, public administration has broad powers in this sphere, which inevitably leads to land disputes between the aforementioned public administration and other subjects of land legal relations. Within the framework of Ukrainian legislation, a number of procedures and grounds for the protection of the rights and freedoms of landowners and land users are provided. At the same time, the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights is also recognized in Ukraine as a source of, among other things, land law, and therefore the legal positions of the ECtHR concerning mistakes or abuses by public authorities when interfering with property rights are important and necessary for analysis. This article explores the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the principle of “good governance”, examines the historical development of this legal concept, as well as its application within national judicial practice. The article analyzes the normative basis for the development of the concept of good governance by the European Court of Human Rights, as well as its evolutionary development in the ECtHR’s judgments in the cases of Beyeler v. Italy, Stretch v. the United Kingdom, Rysovskyy v. Ukraine, Moskal v. Poland, Ramaj v. Albania, and several others. The article examines what exactly the ECtHR means by the principle of “good governance” and analyzes the requirements for the lawfulness of the actions of public authorities when interfering with a person’s land and property rights — specifically, the requirement to act properly, in a timely manner, and with maximum consistency. In addition, the article analyzes statistics from domestic judicial practice of the Supreme Court and the main trends that have emerged regarding the application of the principle of “good governance” in resolving land disputes in Ukraine. The conclusions drawn in the article are aimed at improving national law enforcement practice and dispute resolution, taking into account the fundamental principles developed by the European Court of Human Rights.