The work was written within the framework of the project of binary lectures of the Faculty of Law of the Lomonosov Moscow State University and the Kutafin University, or rather the module «Comparative Studies in persons» of the course «Comparative Jurisprudence» and is dedicated to the memory of the outstanding comparative scholar Rоdolfo Sacco.Rоdolfo Sacco was an honorable professor at Turin university department of law whose inestimable contribution to the science of law and comparative law fell on the second half of XX century, the time of intense political and legal changes. The time of his activity can be described as a major milestone of comparative law.The article examines the main ideas of European comparative law.The article describes and analyses legal formants which were outlined by Rоdolfo Sacco. The authors draw attention to the doctrine of legal formats as a confirmation of the complexity of law, and also pay attention to the peculiarities of using the comparative method in law.