Abstract: The research subject is the political and legal and socio-philosophical views of R. von Jhering and R. Stammler on the problem of interpretation of law as a means to an end of existence and development of society. Genesis of this concept — “law as a means to an end” — is connected with the formation and creative evolution of Jhering’s political and legal theory. Later the sociologized variant of interpreting law as a means to an end had become one of the most popular ways of studying and interpreting law. Stammler modified this concept and some other significant components of Jhering’s legal theory (struggle for law, living conditions of society, etc.) articulating the so-called “system” or formal method, which is aimed at studying not the essence of law, but the forms of thinking about law. The research methodology is based on the set of general scientific and specific methods, the methods of theoretical analysis and historical and philosophical reconstruction of political and legal doctrines. The scientific novelty of the work consists in the analysis of the problem of Jhering’s legal views’ impact on the formation and character of Stammler’s creative philosophizing about law, which hasn’t been studied sufficiently enough. The work clarifies the problem of genesis and creative modification of one of the central components of Jhering’s legal theory about the interpretation of law as a means to an end. Stammler’s main achievement in this context consists in the fact that he had introduced the interpretation of law as a means to an end and a range of related theoretical concepts into the central scope of social philosophy. 

Keywords: essence of law, forms of legal thinking , correct law, society , coercion , social rules , Neo-Kantianism, end in law , Stammler, Jhering

Abstract: The article studies legislation and law enforcement practice in the sphere of private bankruptcy in order to detect topical issues of legal regulation of these relations. Some parts of the work consider the problem of responsible performance of obligations by a finance manager and abuses related to concealment of income and property from bankruptcy estate. Forced sale is accompanied with significant difficulties in the case of marital assets. On the basis of judicial practice analysis, the author concludes about the absence of a unified approach to the application of legislative provisions about private bankruptcy and the clause 39 of the resolution of the Supreme Court Plenum of 13.10.2015 No 45. The author uses the complex approach. The research methodology includes judicial practice analysis, the formal-logical method and correlation between the actual and the legal. Over the past two years upon the private bankruptcy institution coming into effect, the practice of its application allows assessing and outlining the topical issues, which hamper implementation of law, and sometimes eradicating law abuses by the subjects of these legal relations. The author concludes that, despite the relatively effective application of corporate bankruptcy and bankruptcy of self-employed persons in Russia, it is too early to apply this mechanism in the same way to private bankruptcy. Some legal norms should be modernized, and (or) a particular interpretation by the Supreme Court Plenum, establishing legal positions of courts, should be adopted. 

Keywords: perfection of legislation, judicial practice, marital assets, forced sale, bankruptcy estate, financial manager, abuse of law, actual problems, private bankruptcy, insolvency

Abstract: The article studies the problem of anonymous access to medical services. The authors give special attention to the analysis of the current legislation and the materials of judicial practice in order to detect the types of medical services which can be delivered on the anonymous basis. The authors study the concept of a pseudonym. The research methodology is based on general scientific and specific research methods, such as the formal-legal, analytical, the methods of system analysis and synthesis. The authors enumerate the types of medical services which can be delivered on the anonymous basis, and analyze the conditions of their delivery. The authors prove that pseudonyms can be legally used for medical services delivery. At the same time, the authors note that if a citizen uses a pseudonym or a fictive name to get medical care, it can potentially cause difficulties with protecting his or her rights in the case of any claims. 

Keywords: judicial practice, legal relations, anonymity, medical services, civil law, means of individualization, pseudonym, fictive name, health protection, confidentiality

Abstract: The research subject is the set of instruments used to provide public participation in public management and control. The authors show that a range of such instruments — including “public control”, estimation of regulating and actual impact and various types of public examination: independent anti-corruption examination, public discussion, opinion of the Expert Board under the Government of the Russian Federation — has been formed during the administrative reform. However, their potential is not being fully realized. Among other things because of the fact that most of them are not intended to involve public participation. The research methodology is based on the works of V.M. Komarov, P.N. Pavlov, Ya.I. Kuz’minov, A.B. Zhulin, A.A. Voloshinskaya, E.V. Talapina and others. The authors use the methods of interpretation and modeling, statistical, formal-logical, comparative-legal and other methods. The authors prove that Russian institutions, guaranteeing public participation in public management and control, don’t include the institution, widely used in some countries, - the institution of public accounting, which allows influencing the process of planning audit, performed by the government bodies, via the collective petitions mechanism. The practice of using “public audit” is illustrated by the experience of the Republic of Korea. 

Keywords: regulatory impact assessment, Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, Russian Audit Chamber, public expertise, government control, public control, public accounting, actual impact assessment, management decisions, audit planning

Abstract: The research subject is the institution of administrative procedure enforcement. The author defines its concept, studies its features and forms. In the author’s opinion, administrative and procedure enforcement has the following forms: measures of procedural protection (including protection, responsibility and security measures) and injunctions. The author compares the forms of administrative procedure enforcement, points out their common features and peculiarities. As the common features, the author mentions public enforcement character, normative formalization, existence within a legal relationship; peculiarities consist in the reasons for use, content, reasons for immunity and exceptions. The study is based on the dialectical method of cognition of social phenomena and the related general scientific and specific methods: comparative-legal, formal-legal, functional, system and others. The author formulates conclusions about the concept of administrative procedure enforcement and existence of injunctions, which have different reasons for use, different content, reasons for immunity and exceptions. The article is a part of the research project of Russian Foundation for Basic Research No 16-33-00017 “Complex intersectoral institution of legal responsibility: concept, structure, interrelations and place in the system of law”. 

Keywords: measures of procedural responsibility, protection measures, measures, procedure responsibility, protection of a right, procedure enforcement, public enforcement, administrative procedure enforcement, Institution of law, security measures

Abstract: The author analyzes the popular topic of penetration of private principles into public law and public principles into private law. On the basis of doctrinal sources and her own arguments, the author resists such a presentation of a problem. Using the examples of criminal and civil law, the author describes the cases of interaction between these branches of law. In the attempt to prove that there are no mixed public-private institutions, the author states that even the institution of public-private partnership is actually public. The author analyzes doctrinal sources. From the position of the system approach, public and private branches of law are seemed as integral components of the system of contemporary Russian law. The author insists that it is possible to speak about the connection, mutual communication, but not about the mixture or confluence of criminal and civil law. The connection between them does exist objectively, while the manifestations of this connection, their technical and legal formalization in the description of the composition of crime in the text of the Criminal Code are created, changed and terminated by the legislator. It is possible to predict the occurrence of new legal rules and methods, which would reflect the connection between the provisions of different branches of law. 

Keywords: public-private partnership, interbranch relations, discretion, imperativeness, fundamentals of law, private law, public law, system of law, Criminal Code, private interests

Abstract: The article observes the evolution of legal regulation of annual paid prolonged basic leaves of higher educational institutions’ employees in executive positions. The author carries out retrospective analysis of statutory acts regulating the length and the procedure of granting annual paid prolonged basic leaves to the employees of educational institutions and formulates the ideas about potential scenarios of their application to this category of employees. It helps demonstrate the drawbacks of the old and the current legal instruments. The author attempts to formulate particular practical recommendations for their effective implementation. The research methodology is based on general scientific and specific research methods: dialectical, historical-legal, formal-logical, linguistic, system approach and system analysis. The author deliberately uses the generalizing theoretical category – an “annual paid prolonged basic leave” (shortly, a “prolonged leave”), regardless of the terminology used in statutory acts of the related historical period, though the notions can be used in compliance with the analyzed statutory act. It demonstrated the diversity of the terminology used in statutory acts. The estimation of legal regulation of annual leaves of the executives of higher educational institutions, described in the article, and the author’s assumptions about a relatively new legal procedure can be considered as a reason for the further theoretical consideration of the problem issues and will be used in law enforcement practice and for the improvement of lawmaking. The scientific novelty of the study is determined by the fact that it is a practice-oriented research of the legal regulation of annual leaves of a specific category of higher educational institutions’ employees which hasn’t been profoundly studied so far. 

Keywords: Director of the Institute, Dean of faculty, prorector, President of the Higher school, rector, executives of education system, Annual basic leave, Manager of department, Branch, Higher education

Abstract: The article considers legal guarantees for pregnant employees in the situation of employer-initiated termination established by the labor legislation of the Russian Federation. The author analyzes the positions of the Supreme Court in this sphere and studies the practice of regular courts. The author exposes the contradictions between the legal regulation of dismissal of a pregnant employee and the actual needs of the labor market and an employer. The author takes into account the objective current labor relations with pregnant employees. The article critically analyzes the actual prohibition on termination of particular categories of employees. The research methodology includes formal-legal and logical methods, analysis, deduction, induction, dialectical and legal-sociological methods. The author concludes about the contradictory nature of the current prohibition on dismissal of a pregnant employee in case of disciplinary offences without good excuses. The author points at economic destructiveness of transferal of the burden of social protection from the government to the employer. The author substantiates the need to amend the article 261 of the Labour Code of the Russian Federation with compromise initiatives in order to achieve a balance of interests of an employer and an employee. The author suggests accepting the possibility to dismiss a pregnant employee who has repeatedly committed a gross misconduct without a good excuse, or replace reemployment with a leave compensation. 

Keywords: sociology of work, dismissal, labor discipline, guarantees at dismissal, pregnant employee, termination of employment, labour liability, Labour legislation, court practice, changes in legislation