Political rights of public servants in the context of international legal responsibility of states

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the implementation of political rights of public servants in Ukraine through the prism of international legal standards and the institution of international legal responsibility of the state. The national regulatory and legal framework that determines the content, limits of implementation and permissible restrictions of political rights of public servants is studied, as well as the features of the practice of its application in the conditions of the functioning of the principle of political neutrality of the public service. Attention is focused on legal conflicts and gaps in the legislation that complicate the coordination of individual political rights of civil servants with the tasks of ensuring the stability, efficiency and impartiality of state power. The issue of the implementation of political rights at the national level is reduced to finding the optimal ratio between legislative guarantees, disciplinary restrictions and the need for the proper functioning of the public service in a democratic state. Special attention is paid to international legal aspects of the protection of political rights, in particular, standards formed in the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, which apply to various categories of persons in public service. Approaches to assessing the admissibility of national restrictions on political rights are analyzed in view of the principles of legality, legitimate aim and proportionality, and the conditions under which the violation of such rights may lead to international legal responsibility of the state are determined. It is substantiated that among the key problems of national regulation remain insufficient clarity of the criteria of political neutrality and inconsistent integration of international legal standards into law enforcement practice, which creates risks of excessive narrowing of the political rights of public servants. The need to improve legal regulation by clarifying legislative norms, introducing transparent control procedures, systematically taking into account the practice of the European Court of Human Rights and increasing the level of legal awareness of public servants is emphasized. It is concluded that ensuring a balance between the political neutrality of the public service and the implementation of political rights is an important condition for compliance with Ukraine’s international obligations in the field of human rights.