Revista Jurídica Portucalense (Oct 2023)
Scientific doctrine as a source of law in international law and legal systems of the world
Abstract
The term “doctrine” is often used in science, law-making and law enforcement processes, but its semantic meaning has not yet been determined, which makes it difficult to define the role of legal doctrine as a source of law. The aim of the article is to study legal doctrine as a special source of law, clarify the specifics of its formation and analyze the regulatory role and its potential, paying special attention to international law, as well as Romano-Germanic, Anglo-Saxon and religious legal systems. The research is based on such methods as analysis, synthesis, comparison, analogy, deduction, induction, abstraction. The inductive method made it possible to generalize and formulate the approaches of scientists, and the deductive method made it possible to consistently argue the author’s position. The authors draw conclusions that the definition of a legal doctrine as a source of law can be formalized legislatively. It is normatively permissible to reveal the notion of legal doctrine, determine a doctrine as a source of law and establish mechanisms for resorting to this source in law enforcement.
