Almanac of law. Issue 15 (2024), pages 66–74.

DOI: 10.33663/2524-017X-2024-15-66-74

Kubko Ie. B.
Law as a Subject of Theoretical and Methodological Research (Modern Concepts)

The article examines modern concepts of understanding law as a subject of theoretical and methodological research, which makes it possible to define their main characteristics in general terms. The article looks into the main theoretical and methodological approaches in contemporary legal thought, based on the understanding of law, its nature, and essence in various historical periods, and taking into account contemporary influences on legal concepts, their simultaneous stability, and flexibility. Legal concepts that exist within the framework of scientific discussions and their practical use are considered in terms of their perception by legal and, in particular, judicial practice. It is a judicial practice related to law-making that provides the environment facilitating the development of the latest legal ideas and more or less established concepts of the essence of modern law. Unfortunately, for a long time, legal science in Ukraine did not have the opportunity to develop alongside the generally accepted areas of legal theory and was affected by the influence of numerous ideological factors. The national legal science of Ukraine is actively removing the negative theoretical constructs of the past. At the same time, relying on the current national theoretical achievements and legal realities, it is trying to understand and, to a certain extent, adapt to the latest conceptual legal ideas, the main directions of which are highlighted in the article. The article examines the primary scientific concepts that are currently being debated globally and are actively embraced by legal practitioners. A particular emphasis is given to the scientific research conducted by American scholars, with the objective of highlighting contemporary legal procedures and occupying leading positions in their theoretical comprehension, at the level of the most recent legal concepts. The article examines the theories of textualism, originalism, the concept of real law, intentionalism, and purposivism in general. The impact of artificial intelligence on both legal reality and legal research is brought to the fore. The purpose of the article is to reveal the essence of the main theories of law which arise as a result of the US judicial practice and are transformed into the global theory of jurisprudence.

Key words: theory of law, legal methodology, legal practice, textualism, originalism, intentionalism, real law, purpovism, artificial intelligence.

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Yevhen Borysovich Kubko,
Chief Researcher
of the Department of Theory of State and Law of the V. M. Koretsky Institute of State and Law of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine,
Doctor of Law, Professor,
Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine
ORCID: 0009-0005-0775-5582