In modern legal systems, the most important role is played by the functions and principles of law. Their origin is largely connected with the results of various scientific studies, with the search for theoretical approaches to determining their essence. Of great importance is the study of the prospects for their practical expression in the form of normative acts. What is the specificity of the functions and principles of law determined by Russian lawyers? How do these two terms relate?
Definition of the principles of law
The principles and functions of law are significant legal categories from both a scientific and a practical point of view. Consider the essence of the first phenomenon. According to a common interpretation, the principles of law are certain guiding principles (usually presented in a normative form) that characterize the process of its creation and content. The legal category under consideration is important in terms of the quality of public administration and the development of any society. The principles in question reflect the specifics of the country's social and political development model.
Significance of the principles of law
The principles of law underlie the construction of any modern democratic state, the structure of its organs, becoming subjects of political governance. Guided by the principles in question, the authorities ensure the implementation of a wide range of rights of citizens, as well as monitor the implementation of certain legally sound requirements.
The principles of law correlate with all laws adopted in the state - from the Constitution (if we talk about the Russian legal model) to local regulations. Thus, they can be fixed in a variety of sources, which, however, may be in some subordination.
Principles of law and their properties
According to one of the widespread theoretical concepts in the field of jurisprudence, the principles of law can be characterized by a number of properties. Consider them.
The most important property characteristic of the principles of law is the fundamental nature of the rules. That is, the corresponding legal category determines the activity of subjects in the regime of direct regulation of their activities.
An important property of the principles of law is the correlation with the features of the development of a specific model of society and government. If in one country only concepts can be taken as a basis, this does not mean that they will prove to be compatible with the realities of other states.
The principles of law are characterized by consistency, stability, as well as an agreed mechanism for implementation in the legislation (for example, in the process of parliamentary hearings or through judicial precedent in those countries where relevant sources can fulfill the function of a normative act).
Principles of law and their correlation with functions
Let us now examine how the functions of law correlate with the corresponding principles. What are the points of view of lawyers regarding this issue?
According to one common concept, the functions of law can be classified into two main groups. Firstly, these are those that relate to the general social. These functions of law express the role of laws and norms as the main social regulator, and make them significant for the development of society and the state.Among the main social functions of law: economic, political, cultural, historical, educational, as well as controlling.
Secondly, the system of functions of law also presupposes the existence of a special legal category thereof. What elements are included in its structure? First of all, it is customary to attribute the special function to the regulatory function, which provides the direct legal impact of the subject on the object within the framework of the mechanisms provided by law. This function is considered the main one. Although the points of view on this subject are different.
The special legal function also includes a protective function. Its essence is to ensure the protection of constructive, positive phenomena in public communications and the exclusion of negative elements of legal relations from society, as well as the protection of human rights to the extent determined by law.
The difference may be conditional.
It can be noted that the general social functions of law, as well as those that relate to legal ones, are classified relatively differently within different categories. In practice, in many areas of communications, they are implemented simultaneously. Moreover, it is difficult to single out some completely separate group of social relations that would not correlate with activities in another. This predetermines the fact that the social functions of law can in some cases be interpreted as legal due to, for example, the general regulatory framework.
There is also a concept that assumes commonality of forms for all the functions of law, regardless of whether they are assigned to any of the two noted categories. So, the implementation of the functions in question can be carried out in informational, orientation, regulatory, as well as interim forms.
Functions for Principles
In some cases, the principles and functions of law can be considered in uniform contexts. Moreover, it is not always correct to identify the categories of functions discussed above with the formula for the ratio of these concepts. The fact is that the principles of law can be characterized by their own functions. They are classified into two main types: internal and external. The term “function of law” as applied to the corresponding characterization of principles is not quite correct to use. Its meaning is much wider.
Lawyers divide functions that reflect the principles of law into two main categories: internal and external. The first include those that imply an impact on legal norms in order to ensure their stability, coherence, and compliance with logical principles. The internal functions in question allow the state to regulate certain legal relations within the framework of unified approaches.
In turn, the external group of functions reflects the direct mechanisms of regulation of the subjects of legal relations. This is the publication of laws and amendments to them, as well as the maintenance of the institutions responsible for law enforcement.
Key principles of law
Having studied the basic functions of law both in the general context and in relation to its individual aspects, we consider the essence of the principles that we spoke about above. Modern lawyers distinguish their following spectrum.
Firstly, it is a principle that determines the priority of social freedom. In modern developed countries, it is considered one of the fundamental. Its essence is that the state, exercising legal regulation, provide citizens with complete freedom in terms of, for example, movement, choice of profession, as well as equal opportunities to use certain social privileges. Within the framework of this principle, the functions of civil law, for example, can be expressed in the publication of legal acts implying freedom of contract.
Secondly, it is a principle that determines the priority of social justice. In many ways, it includes not so much legal as moral content.It is designed to ensure compliance with the actual role of man in society, his social status. In this sense, the functions of labor law, in particular, suggest that a citizen can realize himself through work, career.
Thirdly, this is the principle that determines the priority of democratic mechanisms in key areas of legal relations. It reflects itself at the level of legislation responsible for building social and political relations aimed at forming institutions of power and representing the interests of the people. This principle is important both throughout the state and at the level of regional and municipal political systems.
Fourth, this is a principle that reflects the priority of humanism, which is common to all modern legal systems. It implies a close relationship with various human values, implies the exercise of the right to inviolability and protection of the individual, private life, freedom, security, protection of honor and reputation.
Among the most important principles of law are the equality of all people before the law, the unity of the rights and duties of citizens and the state, and responsibility for the actions taken. The most important principle of law is legality. It is of the most ambitious nature; its influence can be traced in all elements of the legal regulation of legal relations.
Significance - in the aggregate
The principles of law considered by us are significant not individually, but in the aggregate. As a rule, the implementation of one involves the involvement of the other, often several at once. This determines the complexity of the principles of law, as well as the fact that their influence can be traced in almost any field of legal regulation. However, legal industries can reflect a wide variety of social processes. And therefore, these or those principles of law can be characterized by a certain specialization. Let's consider this aspect in more detail.
Sectoral specialization of principles of law
Above, we examined the principles of law that are characteristic of all legal spheres in general. However, depending on a particular industry, special principles stand out that reflect the specifics of specific types of legal relations. In many ways, they are combined with the functions of a particular branch of law. Let's look at some examples.
The main functions of civil law are the creation of a legal environment for the fair implementation of legal relations with the participation of various entities in the status of individuals, legal entities, ensuring freedom of choice in the field of activities, protecting private interests and property. These functions correspond to a number of principles. Such as, for example, legal equality, which assumes that all subjects of legal relations have the same status in terms of their interaction (neither side can have power over the other, dictate its terms of the transaction to it).
The next most important principle of civil law is freedom of contract. It is expressed in two aspects: firstly, the subjects of legal relations have the right to determine their priorities on the basis of their own ideas and feelings, and secondly, they should be able to include in the contract any conditions that are not expressly prohibited by law.
Another major principle of civil law reflects the diversity of various forms of private property, as well as a guarantee of the protection of the inviolability of the respective objects.
Some lawyers identify in a separate category of principles the totality of guarantees that characterize civil law - regulatory or judicial. When concluding a transaction, a person or enterprise must be sure that in case of violation of its conditions the other party will be guaranteed responsible in terms of compensation for costs and losses.
Other legal industries also suggest a correlation between functions and principles of law. This can be traced in various aspects.For example, the functions of labor law involve the creation of legal mechanisms that determine the development of a fair and transparent mechanism for the interaction of the employer and the employee, as well as the conditions under which a person, without violating the law, will be able to realize his talents and ensure career growth.
These functions are, in turn, consistent with the principles of labor law. Among the most important are the equality of citizens in terms of employment opportunities, the freedom to choose a profession and type of employment, a specific place of employment.
Functions and principles of law: theoretical aspect
Of great importance from the point of view of the development and legislative consolidation of certain principles of law, as well as the definition of its key functions, are theoretical studies conducted by lawyers and other experts who study, in particular, the specifics of the work of political institutions. Therefore, in modern states, the functions of the theory of state and law are extremely important. How is the relationship with relevant best practices and practices built? How do the functions of the theory of state and law determine the quality of lawmaking and law enforcement mechanisms?
Everything is very logical. In the process of scientific research, experts study the tasks and functions of law, and then, correlating them with practical experience on the example of certain precedents in the field of lawmaking or law enforcement practice, develop approaches to their subsequent implementation in the form of normative acts. Relevant studies within the legal disciplines, therefore, have not only scientific, but also practical value - for example, in the aspect of public administration.
Therefore, the functions of the theory of law are extremely important in terms of the quality of the elaboration of laws. As a rule, competent experts of various fields are involved in the process of creating certain legal acts. The role of lawyers is the most important among them. The functions of the state and law, studied in detail at the level of science, are quite capable of improving the quality of legal acts issued by the legislator. Such a mechanism can become a significant factor in the successful development of the state and society.
