Вісник НЮУ імені Ярослава Мудрого: Серія: Філософія, філософія права, політологія, соціологія (Feb 2018)

THE INFLUENCE OF “POLITICAL EXPEDIENCY” ON THE EXISTENCE OF LEGAL NORMS AND VALUES IN THE MODERN NATIONAL STATE BUILDING

  • Євген Миколайович Мануйлов,
  • Юрій Юрійович Калиновський

DOI
https://doi.org/10.21564/2075-7190.36.123059
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 1, no. 36
pp. 20 – 32

Abstract

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Problem setting. The mutual influence of politics and law, in accordance with political and legal values in a democratic society, is a rather controversial issue. It is generally known that politics should not affect the right, and political activity should be subordinated to law. At the same time, during the development of a democratic, law-governed state, situations arise that require rapid reaction to overcome social conflicts and contradictions, the preservation of civil peace, the establishment of justice and equilibrium in society. In such cases can be implemented the principle of "political expediency". The application of this principle on the one hand allows solving complex socio-political contradictions in the absence of the necessary legal norms, and on the other hand, the political motivation of decisions without proper legal justification should be perceived as an exception, which is appropriate only in socially sensitive crisis circumstances. Recent research and publications analysis. The problem of interaction between politics and law, the peculiarities of the application of the principle of "political expediency" in domestic political practices, the influence of the political situation on the existence of legal values and norms, was reflected in the works of such researchers as N. Dobrenka, A. Kukuruz, S. Maksimov, G. Matveeva, I. Nagornyuk, M. Nediuha, A. Selivanov, Y. Shemshuchenko and others. Paper objective. The purpose of our research is to clarify the peculiarities of the implementation and influence of the principle of "political expediency" on the establishment and existence of legal values during the development of a democratic state in Ukraine. Paper main body. In a negative scenario, the application of the principle of "political expediency" may have a dominant subjective component, and the treatment of certain socio-political and economic events corresponds to the interests of only a part of the political class and society. At the same time, the acceptance of a political and legal decision on the principle of "political expediency" in a positive way should be the result of a broad socio-political consensus, which was developed because of consultations between political forces, dialogue with civil society, etc. With that, any politically motivated decision requires legal registration and must not run counter to the current Constitution. A legal norm based on the principle of "political expediency" may have a twofold character: as a temporary mechanism for the restoration in society of such legal values as justice, legality, freedom, etc., or as a basis for the implementation of case law. In the second option, the legal norm should have a deep and systematic value, filling the existing legislative gap, reformatting relations in a certain area of public life. According to experts, the implementation of the principle of "political expediency" in legal form can increase the legitimacy of the political class, institution, political regime as a whole, or vice versa, have a reverse delegitimizing effect. In order to strengthen the legitimate component of the political regime, it is extremely important that the taken decision is in line with the values of the political and legal culture of different sections of the population. In the public consciousness, the Constitution is an embodiment of justice, a stable law and order, legal legality when its provisions form the basis for the acceptance of politically expedient decisions, which are necessary to society. That is why the realization of the principle of "political expediency" should be carried out on the basis of constitutional norms and values. Conclusions of the research. Thus, the implementation of the principle of "political expediency" and its impact on the existence of legal values at the present stage of domestic state building is ambivalent. On the one hand, the application of the aforementioned principle allows solving socio-political conflicts and restoring (consolidating) democratic political and legal values, overcoming the social crisis in cases where the mechanisms for its solution are not fixed in the current law. On the other hand, the principle of "political expediency" can be used by political forces as means of fighting for power, as a technology to promote narrow-party interests. Short abstract for an article Аbstract. It was analyzed the essential characteristics of the principle of "political expediency". It was determined the influence of its realization on the existence of legal values and norms in the process of development of the Ukrainian state. It was shown the negative and positive aspects of making political decisions based on the principle of "political expediency". It was proved that the application of the principle of "political expediency" in the domestic political and legal space might increase the legitimacy potential of the current government or, conversely, destabilize the system of political relations.

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