Administrative and legal aspects of forming endowment funds of higher education institutions in Ukraine And European Union countries

The article is devoted to a comprehensive study of administrative and legal aspects of the formation and functioning of endowment funds of higher education institutions in Ukraine and the European Union countries. The paper analyzes the current state of regulatory and legal regulation of endowment funds in domestic legislation, identifies the main problems and obstacles to their development. The experience of leading EU countries in creating and administering university endowments is studied, particularly the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Poland, the Netherlands and Austria. Special attention is paid to the analysis of administrative and legal mechanisms of state regulation and control over the activities of endowment funds, tax benefits and incentives for benefactors. Models of organizational and legal forms of endowments, corporate governance mechanisms, systems of internal and external control are considered. The main directions for improving Ukrainian legislation in the field of endowment regulation are identified, taking into account European experience and European integration requirements. The necessity of developing a special law on endowment funds is substantiated, which would comprehensively regulate the issues of their creation, registration, asset management, income distribution and reporting. Specific amendments to the Law of Ukraine «On Higher Education», the Tax Code of Ukraine, the Civil Code of Ukraine and other regulatory acts are proposed in order to create favorable conditions for the development of university endowments. The risks and threats associated with the implementation of endowments are analyzed and mechanisms for their minimization are proposed. It is proved that the effective functioning of endowment funds requires the formation of an integral system of administrative and legal regulation that would combine state control with the autonomy of higher education institutions and transparency of fund management, as well as take into account the specifics of the national legal system and economic conditions of Ukraine. It has been established that the formation of the legal structure of an endowment requires a clear definition of its legal status, the procedure for creation and registration, management and control mechanisms, and the system of relationships between the participants in the process.