System Analysis of the Concept of “Power” Within the Framework of Public Law Field

The purpose of the article is to formally define the concept of "power", which may be relevant for solving a specific research problem. Results. The article formally defines the concept of "power", which may be relevant for solving a specific research problem, because despite the frequent use of this concept by the scientific community, it has a multifaceted interpretation. It is emphasised that the specificities of the concept of power are the topic sufficiently widely studied by both domestic and foreign scientists of modern times. However, the absence of a formal definition of "power" enables an additional study of this phenomenon, including within the framework of the public and legal field. It is revealed that power as a phenomenon of social reality can be considered from many discourses, the specificities of the definition thereof depend on a specific research request. It is a multidisciplinary category that combines the characteristics of the relationship between people, actors and objects and is manifested both through multiple forms of compulsion and without intentional compulsion by others. It underlines that the system of public authorities is a set of people's authorities, which have different forms of exercising this power, in particular representative authorities formed by elections, such as the Parliament, President, local self-government bodies. Each body of public authority is created for the implementation of the goals and programmes set, ensuring the protection of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of the people, the security of the State and society, and addressing issues of socio-economic and cultural significance. Conclusions. It is defined that, first, power is an ontological concept, quality of various states of being, essence of possibilities and reflection of reality; second, it is an active or passive manifestation of strength, applicable from an actor to an object. A formal definition of the concept of "power" is offered in this wording: the legal possibility of the actor to establish the framework of required behaviour, which shall be respected by others. Within the framework of public and legal field, this definition can be interpreted as follows: this is the right granted by legal regulations to a specific authorised actor to organise and exercise managerial influence on a certain range of objects of influence.