No 8 (2025)

The article examines the model of liberal democracy developed by J.-J. Rousseau. It is noted that Rousseau, by identifying the state and society and emphasizing equality rather than freedom, actually justifies the totalitarian model of power. Human rights and freedom, which are declared the goal of a social contract, actually dissolve into the common will and national sovereignty. It is argued that Western European individualism, having created a market economy and a Rule of Law, at the same time tends to generate totalitarianism. It is concluded that Rousseau is one of those who stood at the origins of the totalitarian model of power.

The article examines the problems of determining the content and nature of the modern doctrine of sources of law in Anglo-American jurisprudence. Traditional approaches to judicial practice as the main characteristic of the forms and ways of expressing law in the Anglo-American legal tradition are currently being significantly supplemented in line with various theories of legal understanding, focusing primarily on procedural models for developing legally significant decisions. The study points to the dynamics of ideas about the sources of law in general and the Anglo-American legal tradition in particular. The causes and features of the changes are determined. It is emphasized that in line with Anglo-American jurisprudence, many traditional problems of legal understanding, including the question of the sources of law, are understood in the plane of logical and cognitive interpretations. The article examines the attempts of a number of well-known English and American jurists, as well as their European colleagues, to relate the problem of understanding the sources of law to the sphere of logic of legal argumentation and the corresponding semantic analysis. Suggestions are made about the possibility of a more detailed study of the construction of legal formants and their characteristics both within the framework of the proposed approaches (argumentation theory, legal hermeneutics) and in general.

The article examines the optimization and unification of the civil process from the point of view of protecting the interests of the state in the budgetary sphere. Trends in the optimization of the process in Russia are identified. The current and most promising areas for the unification of the development of the civil process in order to reduce the burden on the state budget system are proposed: improvement and development of simplified forms of dispute resolution; exclusion of evasion of payment of state duty; elimination of duplicating functions at the stage of execution of judicial acts, etc. The need to increase the efficiency of the civil process is substantiated by systematically being guided by the criteria for ensuring the fulfillment of the main task of the court – the correct and timely resolution of disputes and saving budget funds necessary to ensure the optimal functioning of the judicial.

The issues of improving the entrepreneurial legislation of the Russian Federation through its codification are considered. In historical terms, the problems of codification of economic legislation were studied by scientists of the economic law sector of the Institute of State and of the USSR Academy of Sciences under the leadership of V. V. Laptev, projects were developed the USSR Economic Code (draft basic provisions) 1970; Fundamentals of economic legislation of the USSR 1975; Economic Code of the USSR 1984; Entrepreneurial Code of the Russian Federation 1994.

The need to adopt the Entrepreneurial Code of the Russian Federation is currently obvious: entrepreneurial legislation is huge, voluminous, extremely mobile, non-systematic, does not have a single core, etc., and its codification is the best way to improve it, incomparable in efficiency either with its consolidation or with its incorporation.

The main attention is paid to the current problems of codification of entrepreneurial legislation in the Russian Federation. Briefly considered codified acts in the field of entrepreneurial relations of those states – the former Union republics of the USSR, where they are. Attention was paid to the need for conceptual study of fundamental – for the draft Entrepreneurial Code of the Russian Federation – problems: separation of entrepreneurial relations from related ones; determining the limits of the subject of entrepreneurial legal relations subject to codification; peculiarities of individual institutions of Entrepreneurial Law (control and supervisory activities; property rights; protection of business rights, primarily in the field of critical technologies; territorial entities with a special legal regime of entrepreneurial activity; strategic documents on economic development for the future, etc.), the structure of the code from the standpoint of its systematic construction.

According to the author, the scientific development of the draft of this Code should be carried out within the framework of the state order, with a preliminary solution of these conceptual problematic issues.

Based on existing philosophical and legal views, the article provides scientific reflections on the concept of time limits in law in general and its relationship to the concept of time limits in Labor Law. The term is the most important, essential characteristic of legal relations (including labor relations), which determines the time limits of the existence of labor rights and obligations of their participants. The specified properties of the terms led to their attribution to legal facts. The author substantiates the conclusion that terms in labor law represent fixed periods of time during which certain labor relations can exist and the labor rights and obligations of their participants can be realized.

The article examines topical issues of doctrine and law concerning the importance of rational nature use for nature, society, and the state. Rational use of natural resources is considered as a factor in maintaining a favorable state of the environment and ensuring national security. The author’s definition of the concept under study is given.

The article examines the genesis of teaching Military Law disciplines in Russia. The beginning of the training of military lawyers was laid under Peter the Great with the introduction of auditor positions in the military, the first positions of legal importance. However, the creation of a system of military legal education took place in the second half of the 19^th century and was associated with the creation of the Military Law Academy and the name of its chief, General of Infantry P. O. Bobrovsky, who initiated the training of military lawyers on a scientific basis. During the Soviet period, the training of military lawyers continued at the Military Law Academy of the Red Army, the Lenin Military Political Academy and the Military Institute of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR. Currently, military lawyers are trained in Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky Military University. The teaching of the academic discipline “Military Law” was initiated in the 80^s years of the last century, when it began to be taught in higher military educational institutions of a non-legal profile. Currently, there is a need to teach it to military lawyers as well.

The article is dedicated to a landmark event for the scientific legal community – the anniversary of Igor Andreevich Isaev, an outstanding Russian researcher in the field of historical and legal science, Philosophy and Sociology of Law, political and social philosophy. Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, Doctor of Law, Professor, historian of law I. A. Isaev celebrates his 80^th birthday. For almost 60 years, the scientist’s name has been firmly associated with Kutafin Moscow State Law University (MSAL), for 35 of which he rightfully heads the Department of History of State and Law. Igor Andreevich is a true creator and researcher, in love with history and law, is the author of more than 400 scientific and educational works, monographs, which have been published in Russian and foreign languages. The professional community gives the highest assessment of his work, noting his merits as a scientist, member of the Writers’ Union of Russia, editor-in-chief of the journals “History of State and Law” and “Historical and Legal Problems: a New Perspective”, member of the editorial boards of the journals “Lex russica (Russian Law)”, “Law Enforcement, Russian Law Online”, “Legal Science in China and Russia”. The article shows the areas of scientific interests of the scientist that occupy the attention of the professor: the formation and development of Russian law, national legal culture and Russian statehood, trends in legal regulation of power structures and public administration in the context of technological revolutions, understanding the influence of technological, digital forms of political communications on modern political processes, the study of the phenomena of power and law in philosophical and historical aspects. Works of I. A. Isaev represents a unique combination of wisdom and knowledge in the field of legal theory, legal and political ideology, the history of political and legal doctrines, the history and Philosophy of Law.

In March 2022, the draft Code of Private International Law of France was published. This project is a huge event not only for France, but also for the entire global legal community. If the Code is adopted, its entry into force will radically change the French Private International Law and will have a serious impact on the further development of codification processes both in other European countries and within the European Union as a whole. The purpose of this article is to familiarize the Russian readers with the history of the codification of French Private International Law, with the general concept and structure of the 2022 draft, focusing on a fundamental innovation in assessing the nature of conflict-of-laws rules. In modern French practice, conflict-of-laws rules are optional (except for the rules defining the competent law on personal status and legal capacity) and are applied by judges at their own discretion. The draft records the imperative nature of conflict-of-laws rules – the judge is obliged to apply them in all situations where the dispute affects the sphere of Private International Law. The 2022 draft as a whole is a full-scale comprehensive autonomous codification of Private International Law, built according to the classic “Cheshire triad”: definition of competent jurisdiction – definition of competent law – recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. At the same time, the draft structure is not rigid, but takes into account the special place of the general provisions of Private International Law and security measures. The volume of the draft is 207 articles, thus exceeding the current national codifications in other countries. The tasks set in the study are solved using a proven legal methodology – historical, formal logical and comparative legal methods. It is concluded that despite the active universal and regional unification processes of Private International Law, its national dimension does not lose its positions, and the national codification of Private International Law remains in demand and relevant. Unfortunately, in three years after the publication of the 2022 draft, there is no official data on its movement, and there is a possibility that its fate will be a repeat of the fate of the three previous drafts of Private International Law Code.

The article analyzes the constitutional framework of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is shown to be a political system based on agreements aimed at ending the war, but which lacks prospects for sustainable peace and development. Excessive complexity of the governance structure threatens effective governance, interethnic reconciliation, and realization of democratic values enshrined in the constitution. The introduction of consociational principles into the governance system at all levels has not led to dialogue between communities but rather to their further separation, eliminating any mechanisms for inter-ethnic peace that existed prior to the collapse of Yugoslavia. As a result, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s constitutional system is ineffective and maintained artificially through international involvement. It has been concluded that the current constitution poses an insurmountable impediment to the democratic development of the country and the safeguarding of the rights of its citizens.

On August 15, 1845, Emperor Nicholas I approved the Code of Criminal and Correctional Punishments, which was in force for 71 years, and for 14 years in parallel with the 1903 Penal Code (for a longer period, only the Constitutional Code remained in force – 196 years). The article shows the preparatory work that preceded the creation of the Penal Code, and presents the projects of M. M. Speransky, P. I. Degay, and D. N. Bludov. The author gives a general description of the adopted law, which was formed for the first time in the legislative practice of Russia according to the pundect principle, defines the legal nature, reveals the relationship with the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire, reflects its assessment in the doctrine of Criminal Law.

The article provides characteristics of some theoretical and practical problems related to state registration of real estate. When studying this issue, it is stated that registration of rights to real estate is necessary to protect not only private but also public interests. The causes of failures that occur during registration of rights to real estate are analyzed. The inconsistency of the concept of real estate in domestic legislation is considered as one of the reasons for such failures. It is noted that the lack of clarity in the interpretation of the range of objects classified as real estate at present leads to problems in law enforcement practice. On the one hand, objects are registered whose classification as real estate is controversial. On the other hand, the number of objects recognized as real estate regardless of their registration as such is growing. In particular, the practice on the issue of recognizing highways and enterprise equipment as real estate is inconsistent. A conclusion is made about the current impossibility of introducing a doctrinally impeccable concept of real estate into domestic legislation, and the need in this regard for a targeted adjustment of the legislation clarifying the legal regime of certain types of objects. This approach will increase legal certainty for participants in the turnover and protect public interests related to state registration of real estate.

The article provides an overview analysis of a collective monograph written by leading legal scholars from European research centres, trade unions and legal scholars from the United States. The authors of the monograph study very important issues of application of AI systems in labour and directly related relations: in hiring, in the process of algorithmic management of employees during their labour activity, in collective bargaining, etc. On the pages of this monograph legal scholars examine in detail the provisions of the EU Directive on improving working conditions in platform work (2024), the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (2024), they provide examples from the current judicial and collective bargaining practice of the EU Member States. Conclusions and proposals are made to improve the legislation and practice of introducing AI in the field of labour on the basis of an anthropocentric approach.