Legal Goals and Means as the Basis of the Mechanism of Legal Regulation

Aim. To analyze legal goals and means through the prism of their dialectical coexistence in the mechanism of legal regulation.

Methodology. The fundamental research method was materialistic dialectics, which, in particular, made it possible to comprehensively analyze the coexistence of goals and means in the mechanism of legal regulation, their interconnection and interdependence. The formal legal method in combination with the laws of formal logic made it possible to formulate the author’s definition of the legal regulation mechanism with an emphasis on the instrumental approach to the category under consideration, as well as to consistently consider the role and significance of legal goals and means at all stages of the legal regulation mechanism. The article also used a structural-functional approach, analysis and synthesis, actively applied the provisions of hermeneutics, which allowed the author to isolate the functions of legal goals and means in legal regulation.

Results. The concept and main elements (stages) of the mechanism of legal regulation are analyzed with an emphasis on the role that legal goals and means play in their implementation. The conclusion is substantiated, according to which the effectiveness of the mechanism of legal regulation is predetermined by legal goals and means in their socially conditioned development and also by the results to which the use of legal means leads to.

Research implications. It is emphasized that incorrectly formulated, socially unconditioned or deliberately distorted legal goals initially undermine the potential of any legal means and, thereby, reduce the effectiveness of the mechanism of legal regulation. At the same time, it is noted that the inefficient use of legal means that is not conditioned by social realities undermines the potential of any legal goal, makes it practically unattainable, does not lead to the required result, which also eliminates the demanded capabilities of the mechanism of legal regulation. These conclusions and generalizations contribute to the development of the theory of state and law, legal instrumentalism, and also lead to more effective law-making and law enforcement activities.

1. Aleksandrov N . G . Zakonnost i pravootnosheniya v sovetskom obshchestve [Legitimacy and legal relations in the Soviet society] . Moscow, Gosyurizdat Publ ., 1955. 176 p.

2. Alekseev S . S . Obshchaya teoriya prava. T. 2 [General theory of law . Vol . 2] . Moscow, Yuridicheskaya literatura Publ ., 1982. 360 p.

3. Arzamasov Yu . G . Teoriya i praktika vedomstvennogo normotvorchestva v Rossii [Theory and practice of departmental rule-making in Russia] . Moscow, Yurlitinform Publ ., 2013. 480 p.

4. Bakulina L . T . [The mechanism of contractual legal regulation] In: Pravovoe gosudarstvo: teoriya i praktika [Legal state: theory and practice], 2019, no . 2, pp . 7–12 .

5. Benkovich K . S . [Legal facts in the mechanism of legal regulation] . In: Novyj universitet [New University], 2011, no . 2, pp . 51–54 .

6. Bergel J . L . Obshchaya teoriya prava [General theory of law] . Moscow, Nota Bene Publ ., 2000 . 574 p.

7. Bondar N . S . [«Eternal» constitutional ideals: how unchanged they are in a changing world] . In: Gosudarstvo i pravo [State and Law], 2020, no . 6, pp . 20–34 .

8. Malko A . V ., Subochev V . V . [Legitimate interest and legal obligation: topical issues of correlation] In: Istoriya gosudarstva i prava [History of State and Law], 2004, no . 5, pp . 2–5 .

9. Malko A . V ., Shundikov K . V . Celi i sredstva v prave i pravovoj politike [Goals and means in law and legal policy] . Saratov, 2003. 294 p.

10. Matuzov N . I ., Malko A . V . Teoriya gosudarstva i prava [Theory of State and Law] . Moscow, Prospekt Publ ., 2011. 528 p.

11. Rukavishnikov S . M . [The structure of the mechanism of administrative and legal regulation] . In: Vestnik Voronezhskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Pravo [Bulletin of Voronezh State University . Series: Law], 2021, no . 3 (46), pp . 201–208 .

12. Spirin M . Yu . [The mechanism of legal regulation: the place of sources and origins of law in its structure] . In: Pravovoe gosudarstvo: teoriya i praktika [Legal state: theory and practice], 2020, no . 1 (59), pp . 37–45 .

13. Subochev V . V . [Legitimate interests and principles of law: aspects of the correlation] . In: Filosofiya prava [Philosophy of Law], 2007, no . 2 (21), pp . 27–31 .

14. Subochev V . V . [Essence of legitimate interests] . In: Leningradskij yuridicheskij zhurnal [Leningrad legal journal], 2007, no . 2 (8), pp . 35–55 .

15. Sukhanova A . A . [The mechanism of legal regulation as a basis for the formation of sectoral and special regulatory mechanisms in law] . In: Pravoporyadok: istoriya, teoriya, praktika [Law and order: history, theory, practice], 2021, no . 4, pp . 18–22 .

16. Channov S . E . [Changes, evolution, transformation of law: correlation of concepts] . In: Gosudarstvo i pravo [State and law], 2021, no . 3, pp . 24–35 .