Classification of Citizens’ Appeals to Public Bodies: Theoretical Legal Analysis and Significance for Law Enforcement Practice

Abstract

In the context of digitalization of public administration and the growing number of citizens’ appeals received annually, a theoretical and legal analysis of the classification of appeals is of particular importance. The lack of a unified system of regulatory regulation of appeals (more than 100 scattered acts) creates conflicts and complicates law enforcement. The purpose of the article is to develop a comprehensive approach to the classification of citizens’ appeals to state and municipal authorities, identify legal problems, and propose ways to improve legal regulation, taking into account law enforcement practice. The formal legal method allowed the author to analyze the norms of Russian legislation on citizens’ appeals, a system-structural approach was used to develop a classification of appeals, and a sociological method was applied to analyze statistical data and practice reviews. The results include developing an expanded classification of citizens’ appeals as the classification outlined in Article 4 of Federal Law No. 59-FZ is limited and does not cover all existing types of appeals. The law enforcement significance of different types of appeals was established. In conclusion, recommendations are proposed for improving the legislation on citizens’ appeals, including clarifying the conceptual framework, introducing a unified electronic system for submitting and tracking appeals, and differentiating the procedures for processing different categories of appeals.