Each country at the level of individual territorial units forms its own system of public administration, which is both individual and under the influence of national, historical, geographical, economic and other features. Familiarization with various foreign experience allows allocating a common characteristic in the system of public administration, which is the functioning in the countries of the institute of local self-government. The functioning of a productive system of local self-government is an integral element of any democratic country. The choice in local government for the benefit of either local self-government bodies or public authorities depends on the theory of local self-government prevailing in national politics. At the same time, the choice of theory and model affects the effectiveness of local government, its ability to ensure and guarantee the rights of the community as a whole and the interests of each individual resident in particular. Studying the theoretical principles of public administration at the local level allows not only to get a general vision of this process, but also to allocate its characteristic features. Studying the effectiveness of local self-government activities in different countries and analyzing the possibility of applying modern methods of management in the domestic system of local self-government is relevant for Ukraine in the process of ongoing reform of the public administration system and the search for the optimal model of government organization at the local level. Due to the complexity, importance and interdependence with a whole range of other socio-economic processes, the issues of theoretical principles as to formation and functioning of local self-government, determining the level of decentralization in the system of public administration of territories constantly remain in the field of view of researchers and practitioners of the world, which determines the perspectivity and relevance of researching this topic.