Institutional Principles for Implementing Competence in the Field of Seed Production and Protection of Plant Variety Rights

Abstract

The issue of choosing more effective management mechanisms in the agro-industrial complex with the least expenditure of resources is of interest to scholars of public administration, managers of state and non-state structures, and representatives of specialised associations. The entities responsible for the implementation and formation of policy in a particular agricultural field operate within the sphere of administrative legal relations, which is regulated and structured by an administrative-legal mechanism — a complex of measures and institutional forms; such a situation is characteristic both for Ukraine and for the EU countries. The administrative-legal mechanism is a multifaceted concept; its comprehension through the analysis of institutional forms and the objects of its regulation is a method of synthesis that will allow us to achieve the aim of the research — to reveal the interconnection between the implementation of competence in the field of seed production and protection of plant variety rights and the application of the administrative-legal mechanism. We examined the hierarchical structure of the bodies responsible for the implementation and formation of policy in the field of seed production, nursery production and protection of plant variety rights in Ukraine, and briefly characterised the current situation of public administration, highlighting the states of «control», «relations-chaos», «interconnections», and «balance-resources». Mechanisms for the transition to a balanced state through the functioning of a competent authority have been identified. When selecting alternative models, the experience of the participants of the Twinning project «Approximation of the national legislation of Ukraine in the areas of state supervision (control) of GMOs in open systems, protection of plant variety rights, seed production and nursery production in accordance with EU norms and standards» was used — representatives of the competent authorities of Latvia, Poland, and the Netherlands, the functioning of a single authority. This path has been tested by Latvia and Poland; the reform of the management system in the field of seed production, nursery production and protection of plant variety rights has common features with the domestic one. Additionally, the experience of Denmark regarding the delegation of competence, which is the next stage in the development of public administration, was considered; its application requires additional experiments and overcoming the states of uncontrolled chaotic circulation of seeds and the use of varieties. We proposed circulation control schemes — risk-oriented and administratively responsible.