Zakharova M. V. Category of "Legal System" in Theoretical and Comparative Knowledge of Russia and other Countries

Abstract: In this article, the author refers to the experience of the gnoseological analysis of the category of "legal system" by representatives of various streams and schools of thought: positivist, post-positivist, sociological, etc. In particular, it is established that in terms of the scope of the “legal system” concept we can speak about two main methodological platforms when assessing it: the regulatory one and the sociological one. While in the first case the scope of the “legal system” notion is limited to the regulatory framework only, in the second case its content is enlarged due to new elements. The author points out that a special place in the legal system assessment is occupied by a cultural and value-based approach to the assessment. Used together with the civilizational methodological platform developed in comparative law (legal comparativistics), it is able to reveal not only the formal aspects of the legal phenomenon, but its hidden features and aspects as well. The article also presents four main components of the legal system: regulatory, organizational, functional and ideological. In course of presenting the material, the author makes a conclusion on the need to intensify the research of the said phenomenon within the framework of the general theory of law.

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