Legal Consciousness Research Articles

To the question of the typology of the mechanisms of criminal law influence and the possibilities of their criminological support

The object of the study is criminal law impact – a legal phenomenon that is subject to development in domestic criminal law, but has received insufficient research due to the ongoing discussions of legal scholars about its content, place in the system of legal regulation and mechanism of action. The subject of the study is, firstly, the typology of the mechanisms of criminal law regulation, and secondly, the possibilities and methods of criminological support of such mechanisms. The typology is based on different types of criminal law rationality, which, in turn, through legal consciousness and legal culture, set different expectations from the application of criminal law in different cases. The author draws attention to the fact that the attempt to present the mechanism of criminal-legal impact as a single phenomenon, as well as the efforts of legal scholars to develop universal methods of criminological justification of criminal-legal prohibition face serious difficulties. To overcome them, it is proposed to distinguish three types of the mechanism of criminal legal impact, as well as to focus attention not so much on the justification of decisions on criminalization or decriminalization, as on criminological support of the process of criminal legal impact, taking into account the typology carried out. The main methods of criminological support of each type of mechanism of criminal legal influence are proposed. Taking into account the peculiarities of the functioning of the social control system, separate recommendations for reducing or strengthening the processes of stigmatization of offenders are proposed for each type.

Legislative vectors of transformation of legal consciousness in modern conditions

The article examines some issues of the transformation of legal consciousness, which is connected with the characteristics of legislative foundations that influence the processes of formation, further development and establishment of legal consciousness, with the clarification of modern vectors of the development of legislation, which are able to influence not only the change of social relations, and to a large extent shape the stages of the development of legal consciousness, modify people’s ideas in the legal space. It was also established that, on the one hand, a rule of law can influence legal awareness, and on the other hand, the correct application of a rule of law, its correct understanding and legal assessment depend on the appropriate level of legal awareness of the subjects who apply it. The article analyzes some normative legal acts that can and can affect the transformation of legal consciousness. It is noted that the functional purpose of legal awareness is to regulate the behavior of subjects within the existing system of law and legislation, which thereby ensures its participation at all stages of the mechanism of legal regulation. In this regard, it was established that the transformation of legal awareness involves the activation of the functional role of legal awareness in society, where law-making activity is the main tool of legal awareness. Key words: social consciousness, legal consciousness, social relations, transformation, transformation of legal consciousness, legal system, legal system, normative legal act.

Формирование эколого-правовой компетентности сотрудников МВД России

The article shows the results of the theoretical analysis of the works of foreign and domestic scientists on the development of environmental and legal competence among various categories of citizens, including law en-forcement officers. Particular attention is paid to the consideration of the position of researchers on the aspect of environmental and legal competence of law enforcement officers. The results of an empirical study of the prevailing type of motivation for interaction among employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are presented. A low level of understanding of the severity of the environmental problem was revealed, as well as a low de-gree of readiness to apply existing knowledge of this topic in practice. The analysis of the research problem showed that the increase in the efficiency of the detection of environmental offenses is closely related to the awareness of responsible persons in environmental issues. The program for the formation of environmental and legal competence of employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is presented, which includes 3 blocks: ecological, aimed at acquiring the necessary knowledge in the field of environmental protection; legal, focused on improving the competence of police officers in the field of environmental legislation; psychological, aimed at developing the professional qualities of the personality of employees, their legal consciousness.

Structure of legal consciousness in the system of human rights: civilizing and psychological aspect of the development of the society

The main objective of the article was to analyze the structural parts of legal consciousness in the human rights system: with special emphasis on the civilizing and psychological aspect of societal development. In this context, the subject under discussion is legal consciousness as a phenomenon and concept in the human rights system. Based on the results of the study it was determined that legal consciousness is a set of legal ideas, feelings, beliefs and assessments that express the attitude of individuals, social groups and society as a whole to the law and, to the behavior of people in the field of law. It is concluded that the experience of legal consciousness, has a complex internal structure and a sensationalist character, therefore, allows to know and understand more fully and objectively the legal reality of the structural elements of consciousness in the system of human rights, revealing its civilizational and psychological aspect in the development of society. Thanks to the modern method of modeling, a model for the study of the development of legal consciousness in the human rights system has been formed. This made it possible to achieve the stated object.

ECONOMIC AND LEGAL MEANS OF PREVENTING ROAD ACCIDENTS IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES

The aim of this article is to study the economic and legal means of preventing road accidents abroad, and to determine the possibility and feasibility of incorporating positive foreign experiences into national legislation and legal practice. The subject of research is the economic and legal means of preventing road accidents abroad. The methodology of the publication is based on an organic combination of philosophical, general scientific and specific legal research methods. Taking into account the subject matter, the methodology of comparative jurisprudence is used to a greater extent. Results. The study of foreign experience in the application of economic and legal means of traffic accident prevention gives an idea of the general trends in strengthening the role of economic means of encouraging drivers to observe traffic rules, namely: legal regulation of the dependence of the amount of the fine on the amount of the offender's wages and other income; increasing insurance payments for drivers who systematically violate traffic rules; economic incentives for drivers who observe certain rules during the year; systematic investments in the development of road infrastructure, innovative AI means of traffic regulation, development of public transport; expansion of the network of toll motorways to relieve public roads. It is emphasized that borrowing the experience of foreign countries in the specific field of public relations without scientific substantiation and without taking into account the peculiarities of national traditions, legal consciousness and legal culture cannot solve the key problems of ensuring road safety and preventing road accidents in Ukraine.

Комунікативна культура і філософія моралі

Abstract. The scientific analysis of state-first processes regarding the functioning of the principles of tolerant cooperative interaction in social life gives grounds for drawing attention to the methodological foundations of the legal consciousness of civil society. Verbal/non-verbal aggression during the war for nine years destroys his spiritual values. The deepening of the signs of decline in the normativity of the foundations of tolerant communication leads to the leveling of the principles of freedom of speech, justice and responsibility. These processes are intensifying with the intensification of the information war against Ukraine, the methods of which are becoming new and unpredictable. Language processes are the basis of this phenomenon. Manifestations of a low level of verbal and legal culture deform state and legal reality. Freedom of speech has led to a drop in the level of use of language and etiquette norms and their transformation (to a certain extent) into hate speech. The issues of the ethics of discourse, "dialogical anthropology" are recorded not only as scientific textual universal actions, but primarily as such, which foresee the need for increased legal responsibility for violation of norms of communicative freedom. The article is devoted to newly emerging trends in social communication, which significantly worsen the general cultural level of subjects of law. This is explained by insufficient research attention to the problems of verbal deficiencies in the interaction of communicators. We are talking about changes in the national way of thinking and speaking and their modern deformations caused by the terrorist aggression of a neighboring state and a number of other objective reasons. Unethical intentions signal a wide range of unexplored consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian war and the undeveloped methods of overcoming psycho-sociolinguistic problems related to existence, logic and ethics. The need for responsible communicators to cultivate public discourse and dialogue narrative with caveats regarding communicative irresponsibility was noted. At the household level, the latter can sometimes acquire the characteristics of a verbal/non-verbal crime.

Establishment of European Values on the Way of Ukraine’s European Integration and Their Protection in the Context of War: Constitutional and Axiological Aspect

The article provides a scientific analysis of those European values, the establishment of which is a prerequisite for Ukraine’s accession to the European community and Ukraine’s acquisition of the status of a full member of the EU. It is noted that modernity determines the definition of two main areas of research on constitutional axiology: first,the correlation of constitutional principles and European values, as well as their implementation and establishment in Ukraine on the path to its European integration; second, determining the role of the judiciary and constitutional justice in the mechanism of implementation and establishment of European values in Ukraine in the context of its European integration aspirations. The author emphasizes the primary importance of protecting, especially in times of war, such constitutional and European values as a person, his or her life, dignity, freedom, security, etc. The constitutional and legal analysis of the principles enshrined in the text of the Constitution of Ukraine has given grounds to conclude that they correspondin their axiological content to European principles, the implementation, affirmation and protection of which is a prerequisite for Ukraine’s entry into the European community and its acquisition of the status of a full member of the EU. In this process, the judiciary plays an important role, so the current stage of judicial reform in the context ofUkraine’s European integration is focused on the formation of a high-quality judiciary with a high level of legal awareness and the implementation of European standards in the administration of justice. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine is a powerful and influential body that plays an important role in the process of Ukraine’s European integration and, in particular,in the implementation and promotion of European values. In order to make its activities more efficient in the context of European integration processes in Ukraine, it is relevant to: reform the procedure for the formation and improvement of the functioning of this constitutional justice body; supplement its regulations with a provision containing a list of basic constitutional and European values, so as to determine in more detail and clearly the focus of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine’s practice on their establishment in Ukraine. Key words: axiology, rule of law, European integration, European values,Constitutional Court of Ukraine, constitutional principles, human rights, legal consciousness, justice

The problems of the unity of the Russian people and the issues of its solidarity in modern conditions

In the conditions of global turbulence and global challenges, the basis for the formation of a new, patriotic and law-educated society is to take the necessary measures to raise the level of legal consciousness, reduce absenteeism and legal nihilism, which will allow Russian citizens to soberly assess certain foreign challenges. The solution of this issue primarily involves its consideration from three sides: from the state, the adult population and youth. The efforts of the state in the field of increasing the level of unity and patriotism of the Russian people will generally raise the level of legal literacy of both adults and young people. The article examines the approaches of different authors to the understanding of the terms "patriotism", "solidarity" and "unity of the people". The normative legal acts, national development strategies and federal programs aimed at increasing the level of patriotism, strengthening the unity of the Russian nation and the ethno-cultural development of the peoples of Russia are considered. Through the analysis of historical events and the attitude of the population to the National Unity Day in Russia, conclusions are drawn about the possible causes of the low level of patriotism among the Russian population, and on the basis of these conclusions, a number of measures are proposed to strengthen the unity of the people and its solidarity in modern conditions.

Effectiveness of legal regulation: a socionormative approach to understanding

Introduction. The article is devoted to the study of the conceptual foundations of the effectiveness of legal regulation in the context of the socionormative approach. One of the most difficult issues in the development of modern Ukrainian society is the problem of ensuring the effectiveness of legal regulation of social relations, or, in other words, guaranteeing the state of proper orderliness of the entire system of social relations, their stable progressive development and, as a result, strengthening the regime of constitutional legality and law and order in society. The aim of the article. The purpose of this article is to determine the social factors of the effectiveness of legal regulation in the context of the socionormative approach. Results. In our opinion, the effectiveness of legal regulation can be determined both by determining the formal effectiveness of the functioning of the legal system and by establishing the appropriate parameters of its social orientation, which are expressed, in particular, in the fair and humanistic quality of the development of social relations. At the same time, the formal and essential characteristics of the effectiveness of legal regulation are interconnected, interdependent values, although it is the latter that testify to the real trends (positive or negative) of social development. After all according to the formal characteristics of the effectiveness of legal regulation, it is possible to determine, first of all, the quality of the implementation of the requirements of positive law, stable forms of legal behavior or legal practice, which are stable in individual and social legal consciousness models of legal behavior that can be carriedout outside the context of teleological and substantive understanding of the legal nature of the relevant actions, including in the light of their correlation with the content of the norms of other social regulators. The effectiveness of legal regulation can be considered at the general, special (branch) and special (unit) levels, which are interconnected. The general level of effectiveness of legal regulation implies the need to establish general trends in the development of the legal system, the content of which attests to the progressive or, accordingly, regressive nature of its functioning. The special or sectoral level of effectiveness of legal regulation is based on the consequences of the practical implementation of norms and institutions of the relevant branches of law (constitutional, administrative, civil, criminal, family, labor, etc.). Unit level of effectiveness of legal regulation can be established by considering the relevant consequences of the impact of a certain legislative act on specific social relations. Conclusions. The crisis of the modern world order proves the need to pay attention to the socionormative approach to determining the effectiveness of legal regulation, the main indicators of which are the appropriate level of coherence of socionormative systems in public life, the growth of positive legal activity, the reduction of the level of illegal behavior, the minimization of social conflicts at all levels, and as well as ensuring the availability of quality and useful material and spiritual social goods for all citizens. Key words: effectiveness of legal regulation, law-making, legal norms, morality,religion, human rights, social regulation.

Retracted: Effective Strategies to Promote the Cultivation of Public Legal Consciousness from the Perspective of Social Psychology.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.1155/2022/8275938.].

From the “Legal Culture of Slavery” to Black Legal Culture: Reimagining the Implications and Meanings of Black Litigiousness in Slavery and Freedom

This review essay considers Alejandro de la Fuente and Ariela J. Gross’s Becoming Free, Becoming Black (2020); Laura F. Edwards’s The People and Their Peace (2009); Ariela J. Gross’s Double Character ([2000] 2006); Martha S. Jones’s Birthright Citizens (2018); Kelly M. Kennington’s In the Shadow of Dred Scott (2017); and Kimberly M. Welch’s Black Litigants in the Antebellum South (2018), arguing that one important implication of these works is that the roots of post-Reconstruction Black legal culture can be found during the antebellum period. The essay synthesizes the insights of these works regarding legal culture, legal consciousness, vernacular legal education, and legal networking. It concludes that, for students of Black legal culture and litigation for and by Black people beyond Reconstruction (that is, Jim Crow), examining the historiography of antebellum litigation for and by Black people is an important starting point in advanced discussions about Black legal culture.

Психологические компоненты правового сознания

The idea of this article is that psychological components play an important role in the structure of legal consciousness. Cognitive, emotional and motivational-behavioral aspects affect the perception, understanding and application of legal norms and values. Consideration of these components helps to understand how the psychological characteristics of each person affect the legal awareness and perception of political and legal reality. The article emphasizes that psychological components are an integral part of the structure of legal consciousness and affect the perception and understanding of legal norms and values by each person. Understanding how cognitive processes, emotions and motives are related to legal awareness can help in the development of effective methods and approaches to increase awareness of citizens in the legal sphere and compliance with legal norms.

Conceptual Foundations of Positive Responsibility: Legal Aspect

The paper examines the main theoretical approaches to understanding the phenomenon of the rule of law and determining its essential characteristics, identifies the advantages and disadvantages of the most common points of view of scientists within the framework of scientific discourse devoted to the idea of building a rule of law and the possibility of its real implementation. The author concludes that in a state governed by the rule of law, the binding of power by legislative prescriptions cannot and should not be an end in itself, such a restriction is necessary to fully ensure the rights and freedoms of a citizen, when the state itself really recognizes the highest value of human rights, recognizes their priority. At the same time, attention is drawn to the fact that even the availability of the widest possible range of opportunities for a person to exercise his rights and freedoms does not guarantee the emergence of a desire, an aspiration to actually implement them, is not a guarantee of proactive, responsible legal behavior of citizens.The author proposes to introduce another essential characteristic of the rule of law: its citizens are self-determined, aware of themselves as bearers of positive legal responsibility. The main aspects of the scientific discussion about its essential characteristics and place both within the framework of legal responsibility and in the legal plane as a whole are investigated. The point of view is substantiated, according to which its positive component occupies a rightful place in the structure of legal responsibility: this is the driving force for bona fide participants in legal relations, while it is tied to the legal plane through legal awareness, it relies on it here. It is proposed to consider positive legal responsibility as a form of realization of a developed, mature legal consciousness of a person and its practical significance is shown by the example of a trial with the participation of jurors.

Soviet Justice and the Fight Against Crime in the Context of the Transition to a New Economic Policy: Informational and Ideological Aspect (on the Example of Nizhny Novgorod)

The new economic policy and overcoming the managerial crisis strengthened the educational value of the judicial system in the young Soviet state. On the way to the formation of a “revolutionary legal consciousness” in society, the authorities gradually overcame the negative attitude of the population towards the law enforcement system. By the beginning of the 1920s, an important role in improving the quality and efficiency of the judiciary was played by creating a positive image of Soviet justice through information and ideological support of the Soviet courts. This article discusses the problem of the decline in the authority of the judiciary in the post-revolutionary period through the prism of a local micro-historical approach to the application of historical and legal analysis on the example of the city of Nizhny Novgorod. The local newspaper publications serve as the empirical basis of the study. Chronologically, the study is limited to 1921, such a minimum temporal concentration allows us to trace the direct dynamics of substantive changes within the framework of the problem indicated in the article.

Formation of Students’ Legal Consciousness and Civic Position in Higher Education Institutions

Introduction. The principles and values, which form and keep functioning the civil society, should be a priority for all the present and future generations of citizens of the country. At the same time, the theoretical understanding of these categories should be backed up by their practical implementation. Therefore, the article aims at conducting the experimental pedagogical study of the problematic aspects of legal consciousness development for enabling a comprehensive assessment of the civic position maturity level of higher education teachers and students.Materials and Methods. The pedagogical activity management process in a Higher Education Institution and the work of tutors served the material for the present research. The research was conducted using a set of general scientific and specific scientific methods targeted at analysis and systematisation of the relevant materials, as well as at practical and experimental investigation.Results. The content of educators’ and students’ work on development of self-consciousness was considered during both in-class and extracurricular activities. Among the fundamental principles of the pedagogical activity management, the principles of legal consciousness and citizenship, democracy, as well as tolerance and civic actions engagement experience were defined. The features of tutors' work targeted at students’ legal consciousness and civic position formation were also analysed. In addition, the article focused at the need to form and strengthen partnerships with the general public, educational institutions, authorities and business.Discussion and Conclusions. The manageability of the civic self-consciousness development process has been revealed as the main result of the authors’ analytical research. The essential pedagogical requirements for this process have been distinguished: setting up interaction among all participants of this process both during educational as well as extracurricular activities, considering student professional training specifics and involvement of the general public into the process of self-consciousness development. The need to sensitize the teaching methods fostering students’ legal consciousness and citizenship formation has also been mentioned among the pedagogical requirements. The efficiency has been proved of setting up the temporary pedagogical communities of experts working directly with students and elaborating the specialised approaches designated to form the above-mentioned qualities in students through promotion of the special topics and issues within the curricula courses, the study of which can multiply the efficiency of the civil legal consciousness development efforts. The tutor activities programme aimed at students’ civic position formation has been worked out and suggested; step-by-step monitoring of students’ civic position formation process has also been envisaged.

With the Law or against the Law? A Qualitative Analysis of the Development and Outcomes of Legal Consciousness among Law-Abiding Firearms Owners

This article explores the legal consciousness of legal gun owners in upstate New York using a qualitative, grounded theory approach. Respondents’ accounts reveal that their experiences cause them to respect and support the law in certain contexts but feel oppressed by it in other contexts. These perceptions stem from engagement with law, and especially the passage of the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013, in which they see legal actors behaving in ways that violate their beliefs about how law is supposed to operate. Respondents believe themselves to be at a legal disadvantage due to distinctive features of New York politics, particularly the belief that New York City residents have an outsized role in statewide politics. These findings offer insights into how gun owners engage with the law and, more generally, into the conditions under which groups feel engaged with—or disconnected from—legal and political processes.

Legal standpoint: general legal characteristics

The research focuses on the fact that today the concept of “legal standpoint” is quite popular both in legal theory and practice, and is generally recognised in the national science, but there are different approaches to its understanding in the legal literature. An integrated analysis of the approaches to understanding the essence of this category has been conducted, and it has been established that modern scientific doctrine considers legal standpoint from different approaches: as part of legal culture and legal consciousness; as certain concepts, ideas; as part of an act or its conclusions. It has been noted that such approaches complicate the understanding of the very essence of a legal standpoint at the doctrinal level, and this may lead to contradictions in the implementation of legal provisions. That is why this term should be used in compliance with the rules of formal certainty.
 In order to clarify the legal nature of the term “legal standpoint”, it has been identified its main characteristics. It has been pointed out that the most important feature of a legal standpoint, its heart, is its main idea. An opinion that legal standpoint is a concept of the general theory of law has been supported. In this regard, the author provides an argument that legal standpoint is undoubtedly a product of mental activity, primarily of a professional. The concept is based on a principle, an idea, which is the basis for a proposal (version, hypothesis, recommendation, etc.) that provides a solution to any legal problem.
 It has been stated that the nature of legal standpoint is formed by pragmatism, a person's attitude to real things, which is noted by almost all researchers. When mastering a legal standpoint, certain philosophical approaches should be taken as a basis. In any case, it has been proposed to understand a legal standpoint as an assessment of factual reality and a system of arguments, conclusions and proposals for its legal regulation. This is a kind of logical and legal construction that expresses the attitude to law, legal regulation and its norms. Therefore, it has been established that a legal standpoint is a philosophical and legal category which includes a person’s mental activity, on the basis of which a certain proposal is built, which is used to ensure the resolution of any legal issue.

Legal Consciousness of Youth Students (on the example of the Tyumen city)

Legal Consciousness of Youth Students (on the example of the Tyumen city)

Attorney-client privilege as an element of lawyer’ legal consciousness

The aim of the work is a systematic analysis of such an institution as the attorney-client privilege. The article analyzes the legal basis of the attorney-client privilege. In addition, gaps and contradictions in terms of securing the legal status of the attorney-client privilege are identified. Particular attention is paid to the characteristics of the attorney-client privilege as an element and manifestation of a lawyer's legal consciousness. Moreover, a significant place is given to the analysis of the limits of the attorney-client privilege.

Professional legal consciousness of a lawyer

The purpose of the article is to analyze the legal consciousness of a lawyer as a specific type of professional legal consciousness. The work reveals the phenomenon of professional legal consciousness, and its structure is determined. The factors that influence the legal consciousness of a lawyer are identified. The specificity of legal psychology and legal ideology of a lawyer is revealed.