Features of the legal systems classification in Eastern Europe in the context of the axiological approach and the legal systems legitimacy

The subject of the research is the methodological problem of identification of some world regions as a legal systems and legal families. In recent years, in practical comparative legal studies (calculation of indices of the rule of law, human rights and freedom of the press), as well as in theoretical comparative legal literature, there has been a problem of incorrect universalization of legal system identification criteria based on the Western legal tradition alone. This problem is also particularly clearly manifested in the uncertainty of European legal space regions in the context of their attribution to a separate legal family. A striking example of such an uncertain region is Eastern Europe.
The purpose of the research is to substantiate the directions for improving legal comparative legal research in the context of postclassical methodology, namely the approach from the point of view of legal values and in the aspect of legitimacy of legal institutions in the investigated legal system.
Methodology. The interdisciplinary approach serves as the methodological basis of this research. It provides a synthesis of methodological tools of classical jurisprudence and methodological techniques and achievements of related socio-humanitarian fields of knowledge and post-classical jurisprudence. In our research we use sociological studies, especially legal sociology, political science and legal axiology, which allows a comprehensive study of the legal systems and legal families on a real case of investigated countries.
Results and conclusions. The authors revised the existing criteria for classifying legal families, considered the criteria for the separation of legal families, as well as the classifications of legal families themselves, proposed by R. Leger, K. Zweigert and H. Ketz, V.A. Lafitsky. From the standpoint of non-classical science, authors propose a mechanism for verifying the legal system from the legal axiology point of view. This axiological approach can be applicated through an assessment of the legitimacy of norms, according to its value basis. In a dependence of affiliation of these values as a western or eastern (liberal or conservative etc.) it is correct to conclude that one legal system belongs to a particular legal family.
The main results. The authors conclude that the prospects for the development of contemporary comparative law also lie in strengthening an interdisciplinary approach that allows combining the achievements of jurisprudence with sociology, philosophy, economics and cultural studies. The conducted integrative study of legal traditions opens up new possibilities for the analysis of legal systems. For example, it allows us to solve a specific research problem on the relevance of the legal systems of Eastern Europe to the Slavic legal family. The prerequisites for substantiating this conclusion were a shift in focus from the analysis of a not entirely universal criteria of legal ideology to the more basic criterion of legal axiology. It also allowed us to offer tools that opened up opportunities for a more differentiated definition of values relevant to the corresponding legal system through an analysis of the legitimacy of institutions and norms.

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