About the Beginnings of the Petersburg School of the Philosophy of Law, or About Crossing Borders. Study of the History of Lev Petrazhitsky

Abstract

Introduction. A successful legal system is essential for the successful functioning of states. It needs an accurate and unambiguous definition of concepts. Firstly, it is therefore necessary to resolve the problem of the essence of law, that is, to present its strict definition. Previous scholars have spent much time and labour on this, but unfortunately, these attempts were not entirely successful. Materials and Methods.The article returns to the research on the essence of the law of the famous Russian and Polish philosopher of law Leo Petrazhitsky. The method of research is a multidisciplinary method of intellectual history. It is supplemented by an interpretation of documents from the archives of St. Petersburg. Results. The legacy of Leo Petrazhitsky, including his important article “What is law?” establishes his psychological concept of law. This article, written based on a speech by Petrazhitsky, contains the fundamental essence of Petrazhitsky’s position in the role he is given as the founder of the St. Petersburg school of legal philosophy. Discussion and Conclusion. The article continues the general provisions of my introductory article to the Polish edition of Leo Petrazhitsky’s speech “What is law?” The thesis is presented that Petrazhitsky’s life consisted of constant border crossing in both a legal and physical sense. The first and second periods of the work of this great theoretician of law may be determined as the time before he left Soviet Russia in 1918 and when he left for Poland through Finland. Unpub lished, manuscript materials from the archives of St. Petersburg were used. The article is accompanied by a cited article by Leo Petrazhitsky.