АРИСТОКРАТ ДУХУ (ДО 140-РІЧЧЯ ВІД ДНЯ НАРОДЖЕННЯ ВОЛОДИМИРА СТАРОСОЛЬСЬКОГО)

Abstract

The article investigates the main directions of activity of the prominent Ukrainian lawyer of beginning of the XX century Volodymyr Starosolskyi. It is found out that the scholar’s legal concept formed under the influence of the theories of Neo-Kantians, normativists, theoretical and methodological developments of S. Dnistryansky and G. Jellinek, was based on the sociological concept of law and state. The scientific works of Volodymyr Starosolskyi, his speech as a defender of Ukrainian patriots in Polish courts, pedagogical, political and military activities, speeches at numerous meetings, inspired by relevant ideas, give grounds to speak about the integrity and consistency of his legal concept. It is revealed that his university education, experience of political, military, pedagogical and legal activity made it possible to forecast events. In particular, Volodymyr Starosolskyi drew the attention of his contemporaries to the need for the creation of Ukrainian armed forces, in order to, in his words, put the force on guard of the law of Ukraine with the onset of «iron and blood» time. An important argumentation by Volodymyr Starosolskyi is the need of implementation (realization) of the right to self-determination by all the nations liberated from the domination of the Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires, and a clear and unequivocal denial of the «economic» justification of the alliance of Ukraine and Russia, which was considered an indisputable truth until recently. Developing the idea about the right of nations to self-determination, Volodymyr Starosolskyj argued that the nation could not realize its right differently than through its own statehood. Moreover, the nation cannot waive the right to self-determination, the right to its state will, as well as to J.-J. Rousseau, no one can «deny the will». As a result of the analysis, it becomes clear that the «Principle of the Majority» carries an understanding of many problems in contemporary jurisdiction, and in particular, in international law. In the above-named work, considering the different types of communities, the researcher argues that the communities, based on the «general will», make the decision by a majority vote, whereas assuming that the majority expresses this general will. Based on the concept of Volodymyr Starosolskyj, described in «Das Majoritatsprinzip», we come to the conclusion that international organizations, in particular United Nations, belong to such a type of communities, the base of which includes not the «general will», but amounts to «all wills», and therefore their decisions require unanimity. In communities, where decisions need to be unanimous, a minority, being secured to protect its interests by vetoing the proposals of the majority, should not abuse the law. If there is no unanimity, when voting, the votes are divided; the minority is provided with the right of veto, and the majority continues to seek another appropriate solution. Today this situation has developed on the international scene. In a time when Ukraine is suffering from Russian aggression, and the international community represented by its bodies created «for the maintenance of peace and international security» remain powerless before the state demonstrating the abandonment of the right as a regulator of social relations, which is impossible to force not to abuse the law when applying veto, various proposals for the exit from the crisis appear. One of them is the proposal to change the procedure for the adoption of common decisions in international organizations. However, according to the doctrine of Volodymyr Starosolskyj, the communities that representing the «will of all» (not the «general will»), which, by its legal nature, is the United Nations and its organs, has an appropriate decision-making algorithm for it. Perhaps, countries that pursue aggressive politics, ignore international law, systematically abuse the law, should in fact be devoid of membership in communities whose purpose is to «maintain peace and international security».