LEGAL DEFINITION, THE ESSENCE AND THE CONCEPT OF "ELECTRONIC DEMOCRACY"
The author studies essence and the maintenance of a concept of electronic democracy on the basis of the analysis of provisions of scientific literature and normative legal acts. The object of research makes the constitutional and legal institute of electronic democracy directed to activization of participation of citizens in the administration of the state. A research objective is comprehensive and complex consideration of constitutional and legal institute of electronic democracy. The author used a dialektiko-materialistic method, general-theoretical and special methods of scientific knowledge: analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, historical, sociological, statistical method.The author reflects on the meaning and scope of e-democracy basing herself on the analysis of scholarly literature and legal sources. As for the most general understanding of e-democracy, it can be seen as electronic mediation or performance of democratic procedures in public administration. The author suggests that the scope of e-democracy includes three elements: - participatory element implying the process of citizens’ participation in public affairs with the help of of information technologies and by virtue of information exchange, setting up public movements, discussing decisions of public authorities, etc.; - procedural-democratic element, meaning implementing concrete procedures of direct democracy online by virtue of electronic voting or petitioning public authorities; control-informative element, meaning transparency in the activities of public authorities and more efficient channels of providing the citizens with information on public authorities and public services.