Annotation

The article is devoted to the analysis of the formation of legal regulation and state management of water transport and inland waterways in the Russian Empire. On the example of the one established at the end of the XVIII century. The role of a specialized government agency in forming the organizational basis for the transition to the sectoral principle of administration and legal regulation during the reform of the state apparatus of the Russian Empire is revealed. The author's conclusions are based on an analysis of archival documents and legal acts of the late 18th century. The conducted research allows us to identify the main trends in the development of organizational and legal relations that existed within the framework of public administration during the reign of Paul I, and which had an impact on the further development of sectoral regulation.