Experimental legal regimes of mobilization type as a method of legal regulation in the context of COVID-19 spread

Abstract

Experimental legal regime; COVID19; legal regime; legal experiment; “regulatory sandboxes”; legal technique; classification of legal experiments; legality; experimental legal regimes of mobilization type on legal forecasting and legal interpretation methods. The theoretical basis of the research includes well-known legal science categories, i.e. legal regime and legal experiment that get a new interpretation with the appearance of experimental legal regime institute. The main results of the research, scope of application. Experimental legal regime is a broader legal phenomenon than regulatory sandboxes, which includes not only regulation of the digital innovation sphere, but also other rules that are limited in time and space. There are legal regimes with signs of experimentation that are not officially identified by the state as experimental legal regimes. The work studied the experience which arose due to modern changes in state and legal regulation caused by the global epidemic of COVID-19. It is suggested to divide the legal experiments according to the purpose of experimental legislation into the following groups: optimizing, progressive and mobilization ones. The aim of the first group named “Optimizing legal experiments” is to test using of new regulation applied to a large and complex object. The second group named “Progressive legal experiments” is intended to check whether the abandonment of old laws is beneficial in the innovation field. The result is creation of a smart regulation for economic and technological development. The third group named “Mobilization legal experiments” is aimed at maintaining of the existing level of resources, security, and infrastructure in the event of critical situations. It is being proved that the legal restrictions aimed at preventing of COVID-19 viral infection spreading can be classified as experimental legal regimes of mobilization type. The criterion for distinguishing of mobilization experimental legal regimes from others is the voluntary participation in the legal experiment and the goal of the experimental legal regime.Conclusions. The development of mobilization experimental legal regimes implies raising of their legality. It can be achieved by the provision of legal guarantees such as the goals of the legal experiment and the evaluation of their consequences. This will allow identify whether the consequences of the experiment correspond to the goals of the new legal regulation. There must be grounds for limitations to legal certainty caused by legal experimentation. Their manifestation is the goal and evaluation criteria, with the help of which it is possible to determine whether the consequences of the establishment of the experiment correspond to the goals of the new legal regulation. Otherwise, there is a risk of unjustified infringement of the rights and legitimate interests of citizens.