The Social Nature Of International Legal Cooperation

Abstract

At the earliest stages of their development, States interacted with each other. In the modern world, States cooperate in the search for criminals, judicial and probate cases. International legal cooperation has gradually become an integral part of the States' foreign policy. When determining the direction of international cooperation, States are guided primarily by their national interests. The national interest of the state in implementing legal cooperation with other actors is manifested in the effective functioning of the judicial system and law enforcement agencies, the protection of property and family rights of its citizens. There is a lack of doctrinal development of issues of international legal cooperation, confusion with the concept of "mutual legal assistance". For many centuries, States have been implementing legal cooperation, but the social nature of this phenomenon has not yet been studied. The article examines the work of political scientists, international analysts, and lawyers. The article presents the social nature of international legal cooperation in the form of a three-dimensional spatial model of social relations that are formed: 1) when States interact in creating a model of future legal cooperation by fixing it in an international Treaty; 2) in the national legal space when justice institutions provide mutual legal assistance at the request of foreign States; 3) in the jurisdiction of a foreign state, the justice institution of which initiated the request for legal assistance.