Licensing of hazardous waste management activities and the principle of good faith under the legislation of Ukraine

Abstract

This article examines recent legislative changes in the field of hazardous waste management related to the repeal of the Law of Ukraine «On Waste» and the adoption of the new Law of Ukraine «On Waste Management», driven by Ukraine’s European integration processes. The study reveals the significant relevance of licensing among business entities, given the number of licenses obtained and procedures initiated over the past three years — 2023, 2024, and 2025. The study examined a number of scientific works focusing on the field of waste management and found that, from the perspective of applying the principle of good faith in administrative procedures, scholars in the field of waste management licensing have not paid attention to this issue. The research methods used in this manuscript include general scientific methods of analysis, synthesis, and generalization, as well as a specialized legal method — the formal-legal method. The work also analyzes a number of administrative acts (decisions) adopted in the field of hazardous waste management licensing and summarizes the grounds most frequently cited by the licensing authority when making decisions to refuse the issuance of licenses. It is substantiated that the adoption of negative decisions by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine during 2024 was systematic in nature; administrative acts were largely adopted in violation of the principle of good faith in administrative proceedings, which was confirmed, among other things, by the decision and conclusions of the State Regulatory Service of Ukraine. As a result, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine revoked the registration of the order issued by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine regarding the verification of the material and technical capacity of a license applicant in the field of hazardous waste management. It was concluded that a violation of the principle of good faith in administrative proceedings during the licensing process results in the business entity losing access to the market for the relevant services. It was proposed that the successor to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine — the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine — take into account the need to adhere to the principles of administrative procedure and the principle of good faith in particular.