COMMUNAL PROPERTY AS A COMPONENT OF COMMUNITY POTENTIAL: METHODOLOGICAL IDENTIFICATION OF THE CONCEPT

The article presents the research results on the essence of the concept of «communal property» through the prism of its methodological identification as a component of the territorial community potential. It is noted that a special place among the components of the territorial community potential is taken by communal property objects. Their aggregation forms the material and financial basis of local self-government. However, the concept of «communal property» still remains defined incompletely, which negatively affects the effectiveness and efficiency of mechanisms for managing its objects. Emphasized that the concept of «property» has an interdisciplinary character, therefore it is necessary to clarify its essence from the point of view of various sciences, in particular — philosophy, economics, jurisprudence, etc. Concisely presented the evolution of the legislation on communal property during the times of independent Ukraine. Based on the research of publications dedicated to the study of the concept of «communal property», three groups of debatable opinions have been distinguished: 1) communal property is a type of a state form of ownership; 2) communal property is a collective form of property; 3) introduction of new terms instead of «communal property». The author's position regarding each group of approaches is argued. Noted the ambiguity of the existing application of the concept of «joint communal property» and necessity of legislative regulation of the various joint ownership rights of territorial communities in accordance with the Civil Code of Ukraine. It is proposed to reveal the essence of the «communal property» concept through the prism of its methodological identification by integrative application of several methods of scientific knowledge, namely, system-structural, political-economic and social approaches. System-structural approach allows to display multiple objects of communal property law, which have different nature and properties. The political-economic approach should reflect the economic relations formed in the local economy in the process of production, distribution, exchange and consumption of material goods in the community. The social approach will shed light on the functioning of communal property rights in the social environment.