The system of legal support for the activities of local self-government bodies plays a decisive role in ensuring territorial development. The article analyzes the place of local self-government bodies in the system of ensuring territorial development. The analysis of the leading European experience made it possible to determine that the deregulation of territorial management processes is an effective mechanism for ensuring their development. The experience of the world’s leading countries in building legal systems for regulating the activities of local self-government bodies was analyzed. The role of local self-government bodies during political crises was defined. The lack of experience in the implementation of powers by local self-government bodies under martial law determined the need to analyze Ukrainian legislation and its practical implementation after the beginning of the full-scale military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. The analysis of the legislation made it possible to determine the place of local self-government bodies in the processes of ensuring the urgent needs of the population during the period of martial law. The analysis of the needs of the population was carried out by accumulating the results of a sociological survey among Ukrainians conducted after the start of a full-scale military invasion. Based on the assessment, a ranking matrix of the population’s requests was developed, which made it

possible to form the areas of work of local self-government bodies, which are defined as priorities in the conditions of martial law. Based on the analysis, methodical recommendations are proposed to improve the regulatory and legal regulation of the activities of local self-government bodies in the conditions of martial law.

Highlights

• The article analyzes the place of local self-government bodies in the system of ensuring territorial development.
• The role of local self-government bodies during political crises was defined.
• The experience of the world’s leading countries in building legal systems for regulating the activities of local self-government bodies was analyzed.