The paper examines various approaches to defining the concept of "public interests", and carries out a comparative analysis of the positions of scientists regarding the content of this concept. The author distinguishes between the categories of "public interests", "state interests" and "public interests". The paper examines the judicial and law enforcement practice in cases in which public interests are affected. The author proves the need to develop a legal definition of the concept of "public interests" in order to increase the efficiency of the activities of Russian courts and other state bodies that ensure and protect these interests. The author offers his original definition of the concept of "public interests", highlights its features. The importance of consolidating in the legislation a single, universal for all branches of law, the definition of the category of "public interests" with the possibility of supplementing its content, taking into account the specifics of the subject of legal regulation, as well as the subject composition of the relevant legal relations.