Russian Civil Law in the Light of Transatlantic Differences in Legal Thought

Abstract

The paper states that recently changes have been made to the procedural codes, which actually led to the legislative recognition of judicial practice as a source of substantive law (including civil law). Judicial practice, at least since the mid-90s of the last century, has not stopped trying to master the law-making function, the intensity of which has significantly decreased after the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation ceased its operation. The science of civil law, represented by a large group of scholars, has also taken the path of justifying the search for law beyond the law. The paper substantiates the idea that this «ultra-American» trend does not correspond to the social conditions of Russia. Russian civil law should return to its German origins, which implies the search for law exclusively within the framework of the law. At the same time, the concept of legal interpretation and law enforcement borrowed in Germany should be supplemented with a rationalistic doctrine of legal interpretation. This approach will replace intuitive jurisprudence, covered by references to the «meaning» of legislative and other regulations.