The year 2024 is marked by the relevance of considering the interaction between state bodies and public institutions, especially in the context of wars such as the Russian-Ukrainian war. Despite these difficulties, Ukrainian society has been active in confronting the aggressor and has received support from democratic countries. The study aimed to analyse the actual aspects of the interaction between the government and civil society structures during the period of martial law. A variety of scientific and legal methods were used, such as comparative legal, systemic, formal legal, formal-logical, descriptive analysis and forecasting methods. The current state of legal and regulatory framework for cooperation between government and civil society is considered, including an analysis of the experience of other countries, which highlights the key aspects of this interaction. It was established that in Ukraine, the processes of formation of a democratic state governed by the rule of law and institutionalisation of civil society are taking place in parallel, contributing to their mutual evolution. The interaction between political authorities and civic initiatives is important because it consists of interrelated factors: the influence of state structures on the activity of citizens and the influence of civil society itself on the formation of political decisions. The paper examined the root causes that delay or, on the contrary, facilitate the proper and effective exchange of ideas and initiatives between government agencies and the public, including imperfect legislation, ineffective existing mechanisms of interaction and their formal nature, as well a lack of public trust in government agencies, and others. The paper formulated and substantiated recommendations that can be used to improve the legal framework for the creation and functioning of civil society institutions as active participants in interaction with the authorities. These proposals may be useful for educational programmes, the development of scientific recommendations and practical activities of civil society institutions and authorities
