Legal errors: concept, classification, causes and ways of their counteracting (eliminating)

Abstract

The article covers the results of theoretical analysis of research on legal errors, analyzes the nature of such a legal phenomenon,ways of counteracting it and, given the causes of legal errors, identifies measures to prevent them in law enforcement. The objectiveand subjective causes of legal errors are specified and analyzed. The objective ones do not depend on the will and consciousness oflawmakers; the subjective ones are generated by the will of lawmakers, because only professional legal activities and their results arepotential sources of error.It is established that doctrinal errors are system functioning deviations closely related to the state policy in the legal field, andthere is no special procedure for detecting doctrinal errors, so they appear in the process of implementing legal doctrine, directly orindirectly detriment the quality of legal life of society. In addition, depending on the type of legal activity, errors in law-making, errorsin law enforcement, errors in legal interpretation are distinguished. These types of errors, in turn, are divided into different kinds. The main tendencies of the concept of legal error, which are embodied in specific results, are revealed, therefore, they are an unpredictableconsequence of a person’s assessment of certain circumstances (including his or her action), which he or she considered solely legitimate,but which did not turn out to be so.The research showed that the error does not arise by itself, it is the embodiment of misinterpretation, misunderstanding of thecontent of the rule of law in the mind of the subject, it is the wrong form of consolidation of information in it. It is proved that raisinglegal awareness, especially professional one, should serve for preventing and counteracting legal mistakes.It should be noted that in Ukrainian science a complete and consistent theory of legal errors is currently being formed, withresearchers mostly addressing certain types of legal errors or considering them in the context of studying broader issues. The perceptionof legal scholars about the meaning of the concept of “error” in legal science is quite ambiguous, which often leads to inconsistenciesin the conceptual apparatus of modern legal theory and requires a comprehensive study.