Проблеми Законності (Sep 2019)
The concept of the legal system – theoretical and comparative aspects
Abstract
The article is dedicated to the study of the legal system, which is one of the basic theoretical concepts of the contemporary legal studies. The concept of legal system has been in focus of a number of studies in different legal disciplines, from the theory of law and state to classical international law. However, the multi-functional use of this concept as well as diverse approaches to its understanding from the perspective of different schools of legal thinking reaffirms the need for the continuation of the discussion as for the essence of this concept with the particular focus on the possibility to utilize this concept and the term with regards to the law of the European Union. The article provides the analysis of this concept from the perspective of three different scientific approaches: comparative legal studies, international law, and general theory of state and law. It refers to a diverse number of research papers, including both the works of classical scientists in the area of state and law and the innovative researchers of recent years. As the result of the analysis the article offers a number of conclusions. First of all, it reaffirms the idea of the potential possibility to use the concept of the legal system with regards to both national and international law, despite the differences existing between these systems. Second, the principal structural elements of the “legal system” concept are identical for both cases. These elements are law (or the system of law), legal practice, institutional and psychological components. Third, the provided analysis offers the ground for the determination of the essence of the theoretical concept “legal system” via the analysis of the four mentioned principal structural elements. In its turn, this provides theoretical basis for the analysis of other inter-state legal systems, which are different from both national and international law.
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