Structure of National Security Legislation: Theoretical Foundations and Systematisation Issues

The article discusses the problems of fragmentation and insufficient internal consistency of Ukraine’s national security legislation. It is noted that these issues have become particularly acute in the context of martial law, and there is an urgent need for legal certainty in order for the security and defence sector to function effectively. The array of regulatory and legal acts governing the security sphere is characterised by a lack of a unified approach, which complicates law enforcement and hinders reforms. The purpose of the article is to develop and justify an analytical model of the structure of national security legislation, which allows assessing its component structure, internal consistency and hierarchical relationships. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of this structure in the context of fundamental changes introduced by the Law of Ukraine “On Law-Making Activity”. It is indicated that the study is based on the comprehensive application of systemic-structural, formal-legal and doctrinal methods of analysis. This made it possible to consider security legislation as a holistic entity, identify its key components and explore the links between them. Analytical tools have been developed to systematise and assess the quality of security legislation. A model has been proposed to law-making entities and scholars that will help to organise the legislative body in accordance with the principles laid down in the new legislation on law-making, which is critically important for strengthening national security and Ukraine’s European integration course. Based on the results of the study, a four-component model of the structure of national security legislation has been developed, which includes: 1) normative-legal acts of full regulation; 2) normative-legal acts of partial regulation; 3) ratified international treaties; 4) legal links between these elements. It is argued that the adoption of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Law-Making’ not only confirms the relevance of this approach, but also provides a regulatory framework for its practical implementation, enshrining the principles of consistency and legal certainty. The inexpediency of including non-imperative strategic planning acts in the structure of legislation has been proven.