Throughout its existence, mankind has tried to find the most effective way to regulate the relations that arise in the process of its direct activity. When searching, various methods were tried. The first of these is tyranny, that is, the absolute power of a single person. Very quickly, this method showed its complete inefficiency, because only weak individuals succumbed to control. More daring people could resist the onslaught and threats.
Religion has come to replace such violence. This method of coordinating public relations has shown much greater efficiency. But he also could not fully cope with the task, because religion is able to unite exclusively co-religionists. Therefore, when all methods showed their inaction, law was invented. This set of norms authorized by a separate social group is the best regulator of public relations. Moreover, there are specific sources and forms of law. They show the effectiveness and characteristics of this category. Therefore, the sources of law, forms of law should be analyzed in order to understand in detail all aspects of the regulator of public relations.
What is a right?
Any category has its own form, manifestations and features. However, for a detailed analysis of a particular phenomenon, its concept should be analyzed. For example, what is a right? According to a widespread theory, it is a regulator of public relations, consisting of a whole system of rules of behavior authorized by the state. The last element, in turn, is characterized by formal consolidation. That is, such rules are norms generally binding on everyone.
In addition, a violation of such standards leads to a negative state reaction. That is, legal liability is provided for citizens. The existence of law depends on many factors. First of all, human consciousness is of key importance. That is, people should understand the essence of those responsibilities that are assigned to them by the state formation. Another important element, of course, is the system of sources and forms of enforcement. It is thanks to them that this regulator operates in a particular state.
Sources of law (forms of law): concept
There are many theoretical developments regarding the origins of jurisprudence. Over the years, many scholars have tried to identify where the law finds its beginning and how it manifests itself. In the 21st century, a general theoretical approach was nevertheless developed. According to him, the sources (forms) of law are specific ways in which the norms are fixed, acquire their external expression. However, there are a large number of interpretations of the understanding of this term.
Distinction of concepts
It should be noted that the sources of law, forms of law are far from always identified. Very often, the concepts presented are presented as completely different terms. For example, the sources of law are considered objective phenomena of reality that give rise to specific rules of behavior authorized by the state. In turn, the form is called the official way of expression, the totality of the norms that have already been created. At the same time, there is also a third look at this issue. According to him, sources are historical monuments of law, an example of which are the laws of Hammurabi, etc. But, if we analyze the sources and forms of Russian law, then in this case the terms presented are absolutely identical.
Types of sources (forms)
In legal science, one can find many approaches to highlighting the types of phenomena considered in the article. But, as practice shows, there is a single, classic view of species division. According to him, the following sources and concepts relate to sources (forms) of law:
- Legal act.
- Legal precedent.
- Legal custom.
- Regulatory agreements.
- Science (theories, doctrines, ideas, etc.).
The list contains the main forms (sources) of law that exist today in the world. Of course, far from all of them are used in the Russian Federation, which will be mentioned later in the article.
Features of a normative act
Sources of law (forms of law) are official documents or acts. In many states they are the main ones. A normative act is good in that its provisions are recorded in official documents, and do not remain in people's memory. Thus, it is not only effective, but also easy to use. As a rule, a normative act is an official document issued in writing.
The main advantages of this source (form) of law are the following factors:
- Through it, you can influence social relations as quickly and fully as possible.
- Implementation of norms is possible thanks to coercive methods.
- To use the provisions of normative acts, it is possible to involve specific entities, which are public authorities.
- Throughout the territory of use, a normative act is understood equally.
It should also be noted that the sources and forms of Russian law are for the most part based on a normative act. It is the key in this system.
Precedent
The forms (sources) of Russian law do not contain a precedent in their structure. In other words, it is not recognized on the territory of our state. However, in the countries of the Anglo-Saxon legal family, this source not only exists, but is also actively used in practice.
In addition, it is more relevant than a normative act. In fact, a precedent is a decision of an official body in a case, which becomes a common reference for all subsequent reviews of similar situations. This source is the most ancient of all existing. Because the precedent was developed and widely used in the states of the ancient world. A modern view of the source appeared in England of the 12th century. The precedent has some features:
- Plurality. It indicates that such a source can be issued by authorities issuing official decisions.
- Casuism is a feature that speaks of the specifics of a precedent. That is, it appears and is used in specific, point cases.
- Flexibility. In other words, to solve one case, there are several ways of development of events.
Thus, a precedent is a fairly effective source (form) of law. However, its use is possible only in some states whose legal system differs in its features.
Custom
Sources of law (forms of law) developed largely from the customs that existed even before the creation of the regulator of public relations mentioned in the article. They are a rule of conduct that is unwritten. Legal custom arises as a result of the application of certain rules for a large amount of time. Moreover, such a source must be recognized by the state. Otherwise, its use will not be official. There are a number of features that characterize customs, for example:
- It must exist for an extended amount of time. The use of custom should become a habit of people and not cause any questions. In other words, this rule is becoming generally accepted.
- The custom in the vast majority of cases is an oral source of law. It is not recorded anywhere. It exists in the minds of people who use it constantly.
- As a rule, all customs, without exception, exist in a certain territory. This indicates their local character. If you do not take into account the particularities of the legal system of the Russian Federation, then the indicated source in most cases is inseparable from religious norms.
Thus, custom is an effective local source and form of expression of legal norms. Today it is actively used in the international branch of law.
Regulatory agreements
Regulatory agreements along with other categories presented are a source of law. But it should not be confused with an ordinary civil contract. In its composition must necessarily use the norm, which is imputed to the duties of a certain number of specific persons. Given these features, we can conclude that a regulatory contract is an act of will of individual participants aimed at establishing and creating a specific legal regime. It is used in most countries today. Forms (sources of law) of the Russian Federation also contain regulatory agreements. In the Russian Federation, it is used to address domestic issues.
Legal Science
The most common and truly common source of law is science. It is the theoretical developments in this area that allows us to keep up to date and maintain the regulator of public relations in the proper form. Today, legal science is actively developing in almost all countries. Its manifestation is doctrines, theories, and ideas.
Output
So, we examined the forms (sources) of law in the Russian Federation and the world. It is worth noting that almost every one of them is active today. This makes it possible to effectively exercise the right to coordinate society’s relations as quickly and efficiently as possible.