APPLICATION OF BLOCKCHAIN IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: PROSPECTS FOR LEGAL REGULATION

The research focuses on the social relations in the field of digital public administration, namely possibilities of applying in public administration of blockchain. The main purpose of this research is to identify streams of regulatory reform of public administration in order to create legal conditions for the blockchain technology application by State authorities. The study was based on the foreign and Russian authors' researches in the field of public administration, as well as strategic legal acts. The main obstacle to introduce blockchain in public administration is the contradiction between vertical structure of administration and the decentralized nature of blockchain. The article describes the similarities between blockchain and new public management, defines the types of public functions in which blockchain can be most effective. The conclusions made in the literature regarding the preference for closed blockchains by the State, which allow to maintain control over the transactions carried out, are projected by the method of analogy to the field of legal regulation of public administration. The expansion of the results obtained in the public administration science into the legal sphere has revealed specific problems that require updated legal regulation in connection with blockchain within the framework of the public administration laws. Integrated legal regulation will affect both the composition and procedure of public functions and the institutional framework of public administration. Resolving disputes needs special attention. The task is complicated by the absence of systemic regulation concerning public administration process in Russia. As a result of the research, key directions of regulatory reform in the public administration field, allowing the use of blockchain technology, proposals for improvement of legislation have been identified. Some recommendations can be used in the course of regulatory correction within the framework of the national project "Digital Economy."