The Concept of a «Principle» in Constitutional Law

Abstract

In the doctrine of constitutional law, there are various approaches to understanding and defining the concept of a «principle of constitutional law». The paper examines the positions and conceptual standings at various stages of the development of domestic legal science (general theory of law and constitutional law), elucidating the features of the principles of law and constitutional law. The author concludes that the understanding of the principle is based on various ideological approaches. This approach is especially clearly manifested in the Soviet theory of law, where principles are defined as principles predetermined by the economic system (formation). At the same time, there is a tendency in Soviet theory to objectify principles. The modern science of constitutional law provides for a variety of points of view and approaches aimed at revealing the nature, legal characteristics, purpose and practical role of the principles of constitutional law. The paper substantiates the special purpose of the constitutional principles. They are not rules of law in the classical sense. The principles of constitutional law, being an independent type of regulatory prescriptions, play the most significant role in regulating relations. They determine the content of constitutional and effective law as a whole. The legal quality of constitutional principles consists in a high degree of generalization of the theory and practice of public relations. The principles of constitutional law possess the quality of objectivity. They reflect the prevailing view expressed in the Constitution of the Russian Federation about the proper legal impact. Constitutional principles represent a concentrated expression («driving ideas») of the development of public relations.