Abstract: One of the most serious issues in the modern social sciences is the problem of state. While being an "eternal" topic for the legal studies and political philosophy, the problems of state, statehood, attitude to state power currently are facing a challenges of a total new quality.  These challenges in the sphere of modern understanding of statehood require detailed evaluation.  This article includes a brief overview  of the most important problems and contradictions, influencing the statehood in the XXI century. The methodological setting of the study is dialectic, and it is reflected by the attempt to evaluate the matters in their development and internal contradictions. For his work  the author used the problem-categorical attitude allowing for the most significant elements of the object of studies. The study develops the ideas, which were provided by the leading representatives of the modern Russian and foreign political and legal sciences.     The author points out the transforming influence of the economic globalization processes upon the structure, functions and potential of the state institutions, noting the limitations to the sovereignty of the states, making the state sovereignty and unimportant ideological phantom.  The author then characterizes the state erosion processes on vast territories (Iraq, Haiti, Mali, Somali, Sudan, Ukraine, etc.). The author offers a critical evaluation of the spread of requirements for the "democratization" of a state, lowering the role of state in the public life.

Keywords: sovereignty, globalization, democracy, nation state, global law, supranational institutions, shadow law, sunken states, crisis, anti-etatism

Abstract: In the process of its formation in 1990s the Russian legal system actively used reception of the Western legal tradition. Reception of law is understood as adoption and introduction of the ideas, legal institutions, norms, terminology of the foreign law for the purpose of modernization of the legal system, gaining international authority or providing for political and economic dependency from other states. The Western legal tradition is a complex of legal ideas and theories, which were formed throughout the period of existence of the Western legal culture, and which are manifested by the liberalism ideology based on the following principles: individualism, instrumentalism, technologism, rationalism, pragmatism, political character, civility, lawfulness. Currently the Western legal tradition serves as a paradigm for the modernization of the legal systems within the states, which are not part of the Western civilization.  The methodological basis for the study was formed by the general scientific cognition methods (dialectics, analysis, synthesis, analogy, functional, systemic and structural approaches, abstraction and specification, linguistic analysis, as well as specific scientific and legal methods of studies: formal legal, comparative legal, technical legal methods, legal modeling, and special methods (sociological, psychological, anthropological, historical).Its scientific novelty is due to the theoretical and methodological substantiation of the modernization process as an element of information psychological warfare, in order to guarantee control over the situation on the post-Soviet territory. The scientific novelty of the article in general is due to the analysis of the reception of law, its goals, functions, system of principles from the standpoints, which were not used before.

Keywords: decorative reception, reception, law, Westernization, modernization, expansion , ideology, full-scale reception, political and legal myth, West

Abstract: In this article the authors attempted to study the issues of qualification of forms and types of theft of property of persons, defining the criminal law problems in this sphere, as well as the possible solutions for them. The author attempted to generalize and analyze the doctrinal opinions on this issue with certain theoretical conclusions on the moment of completing the crime against property. As an object of studies the authors use legal norms defining legal responsibility for the unlawful acts against property relations and practice of their application.  In their studies the authors actively use dialectic approach to scientific cognition in combination to logical, statistical, comparative legal and some other general and specific scientific methods of cognition of a society. The studies have legal novelty, which is due to the compelx of theoretical provisions developed by the authors. In the nearest future these provisions may serve as the basis for the optimization of the Russian legislation in part of defining the final moment of the unlawful acts against propert, both crimes and administrative offences. The article provides a new definition of theft, allowing to avoid many violations of law in the proceedings on administrative and criminal cases. The said provisions are of both scientific and practical  value.

Keywords: theft, stealing, completion of theft, small theft, proprietary harm, real damage, disposal of property owned by other people, uncompleted crime, attempted offence, crime against property

Abstract: The object of studies concerns the Code of the Fundamental State Laws of the Russian Empire  on the issue of legal provisions regarding the Russian royal family. The authors show place and role of these norms in defining the legal status of the members of the royal family and its value in the relevant institution of the Russian public law.  Special attention is paid to the analysis of the Institution of Imperial Family as an element of the Code of the Fundamental State Laws of the Russian Empire of 1832-1892. The methodology of studies is based upon the historical and formal legal approaches, showing the normative basis and contents of the Code of the Fundamental State Laws of the Russian Empire in part of analysis of the legal position of the royal family. The scientific novelty is due to the analysis of the Code of the Fundamental State Laws of the Russian Empire of 1832-1892 in the sphere of provisions for the legal status of the members of the royal family. Following the European tradition for special "Family Laws" on relations between the monarch and the members of the royal family, and their legal position, the legal status of a royal family was rather clearly defined in the legislation of the Emperor Paul the I (1797). Based upon these provisions the Code of the Fundamental State Laws of the Russian Empire provided for a special division: Institution on Royal Family.  It provided for a special institution of public law for a royal family, regulating such public law relation as the procedure for acquiring the rights of members of the royal family, establishing family relations as the basis for inheriting the throne, obligations of the Emperor to support rule of law and order in the royal family, obligations of the members of the royal family, and the obligation to be faithful to the ruling Emperor.  The specific features of the family and marriage issues, property and inheritance were also regulated in the Code.

Keywords: history of Russian state, history of Russian law, the Russian Empire, the sources of law, the fundamentals of the form of government, organization of the state government, the Code of Laws, fundamental state laws, royal family, Russian public law

Abstract: The author studies the types of ground for exclusions from the norm on the exhaustion of the domestic means of legal protection, as recognized in the international law. In particular, he analyzes such grounds as the lack of access to the domestic means of legal protection, inefficiency of domestic means of legal protection, unjustified delay in  justice, etc. The exception from the rule of exhaustion of domestic means of legal protection is based upon the provisions of international treaties. The author states that usually exempting the claimant from the obligation to exhaust the domestic means of legal protection has to do with the lack of funds for payment to the legal representative.  The author notes that the absence of procedural guarantees of fair and public judicial proceedings, fair and impartial court characterizes the means of judicial protection as being inefficient, an unjustified delay in dealing with the case by the court or other bodies may also serve as grounds for exemption to the rule of exhaustion of the domestic means of legal protection.  Finally, the author notes that in the general provisions of international law it is possible to exempt from the application of certain means of legal protection, if it shall lead to the repeated or continued violation of rights, and it may also lead to the situation where the rule on the exhaustion of the domestic remedies may not apply.

Keywords: international law, European law, the Council of Europe, the European Court, judicial practice, exhaustion of remedies, judicial protection, domestic legal order, international courts, domestic courts

Abstract: The article concerns the issues of legal regulation in the sphere of renewable sources of energy and environmental protection in Mexico.  This is a topical issue for Mexico as well as for the other states, as are currently the issues of the subsoil mineral resources and, more specifically, energy carriers, as well as the issues of environmental protection. The analysis of Mexican legislation in this sphere allows one to say that the energy policy of Mexico is aimed at improvement of the energy efficiency and energy saving, development of the renewable sources of energy. However, the measures aimed at achieving compliance with the environmental legislation were taken only in the middle of 1990s, which was due to Mexico joining the NAFTA.  A number of measures in the sphere of regulating water, soil and air pollution was taken by the Mexican legislator after the Kyoto Protocol was signed. Starting from the second half of the 1990s the measures were taken in order to form the special legal basis in the sphere of environmental protection, and special institutional bodies were established.  The further improvement of the Mexican environmental legislation in this sphere depends upon the tempo and level of the integration processes between Mexico and the North American states.

Keywords: energy law, environmental law, renewable sources of energy, Mexico, NAFTA, Kyoto Protoool, energy efficiency, energy saving, energy policy, investments