For a long period of scientific practice, which lasted for millennia, experts came to the conclusion that under jurisprudence it is necessary to understand science, which studies law and the state. This is a kind of theoretical form and method of production and improvement of legal knowledge. At the same time, it is a collection of information about the law that is widespread in society.
The origins of science
Even in the times of Ancient Rome, jurisprudence was isolated in a separate science (about the 3rd century BC). The then-living scientist Celsus defined it as ars boni et aequi, translated from Latin as “the art of good and the equivalent of the balance of justice, conformity, proportionality”. But there was another opinion: the lawyer Ulpian argued that this science is "knowledge of the legal and the unlawful." Many of us even now cannot reliably explain the essence of the literal meaning of the definition of "jurisprudence": what is it and why is it needed. In the strict sense of the word and in the exact translation from Latin, the term consists of two parts: "juris" - law and "prudential" - knowledge, science, i.e. implies a science that studies law, which is taught in the academic environment of educational institutions. Although Roman jurisprudence, which had previously experienced the influence of inferences from ancient Greek legal and political sciences, later became the starting point for the foundation and development of the European type of this science, both in the Middle Ages and in Modern times. Along with this circumstance, it arose in Russia.
Law in Russia
The development of domestic jurisprudence begins with the formation of Moscow and St. Petersburg universities - in 1755 and in 1819, respectively. According to E.V. Kuznetsov, the fundamental foundations for Russian jurisprudence were laid precisely by domestic universities, so that the further history of the development of this science in our country cannot be separated from the development of these educational institutions. At first, the teaching of legal discipline was conducted with the participation of foreign professors. Over time, domestic experts were accepted. One of the first was the professor of law S.E. Desnitsky, thanks to him, a significant contribution was made to the development of Russian science by the definition of the term “jurisprudence”. That this is a separate discipline, experts realized precisely thanks to him.
The bookmark and streamlining of the
theoretical foundations of Russian jurisprudence were closely intertwined with the ideas of B.A. Kistyakovsky, L.I. Petrazhitsky, S.A. Muromtseva, F.V. Taranovsky, P.I. Novgorodtseva and others. The emergence of a network of industry-specific disciplines contributed to the works of N. S. Tagantseva - “Russian Criminal Law” in 2 volumes, 1902, N.M. Korkunova - “Russian State Law” in 2 volumes, 1893, G.F. Shershenevich - “Textbook of Russian Civil Law”, 1907, “Textbook of Commercial Law”, 1914
Learning Properties
What do we know in a general theoretical sense about such a discipline as jurisprudence? That this is an independent branch of science, which requires determining the subject of its study and the method of cognition. Here it can be clarified that the objects for it are law and the state, and the subject is their fundamental properties. Jurisprudence has markedly expanded in interaction with sociology and psychology, political theory and ethics. This expansion is due to the fact that the above disciplines intersect with subjects, which in turn are closely related to law. And if the doctrine itself has the goal of delimiting the knowledge of law from related industries, it does so because of the desire to avoid such a thing as methodological syncretism. It is able to distort the essence of jurisprudence and erase natural boundaries (see more precisely: “Pure doctrine of law” by Hans Kelsen, 1988). By analogy with any science, jurisprudence has only one subject. In this regard, two noticeably different objects - law and state - are investigated and studied as two necessary components.
Law science system
Jurisprudence - what is it? This is a combination of theoretical knowledge about laws, various rights and obligations, relations - both between citizens and with the state. It implies the ability to apply the acquired knowledge in practice, with its help, proceedings, debates are conducted, disputes are resolved. Among the functions of jurisprudence can be identified the main directions of theoretical comprehension of law. Her system consists of a set of sciences that comprehensively study the law. Moreover, these doctrines form a characteristic static structure. In general terms, it looks as follows.
- Branch sciences - constitutional, administrative, civil, criminal, labor law, etc.
- General theoretical - the theory and history of state and law, the history of political and legal disciplines.
- Intersectoral - environmental law, judicial system, etc.
- The science of comparative law.
- Disciplines of international law - international public, international private, space, etc.
- Applied legal doctrines - legal psychology, forensics, criminology, forensic medicine, etc.
Legal Thought Development
The essence of jurisprudence is permeated by the conflict of two opposite types of legal understanding - legistic (totalitarian) and legal. These two main types correspond to two different concepts of science. If jurisprudence proceeds from the distinction between law and law and is based on an anti-legistic understanding, then it belongs to the legal class of doctrine. And vice versa, when identifying law and law and with a fulcrum on the legalistic interpretation, it refers to the totalitarian type. The actual development of legal thought is characterized by pluralism and the interaction of different opinions and positions. They are located between the two poles of legal understanding, but there is also a bizarre combination of typologically different ideas. However, this does not depreciate jurisprudence, the training of which leads to its understanding as a science, since ultimately it is the specific type of interpretation that determines the theoretical meaning of his method in the role of a single discipline on law and the state.
Institute concept
For jurisprudence, the term “institution” is applicable. It means a set of norms affecting one or more intersecting relationships. These circumstances, not being random formations of the legislator, but defining the specific and inevitable connection of the components, due to the structure of life phenomena (ethical, economic, social), lend themselves to a detailed study of the classification, which allows to establish internal dependence between the norms, which reduces them to one of the factors of formation . The study of legal relations takes place using the location of subordinate or subordinate groups. Each of these groups is called an institution. For example, they talk about the institution of the contract, inheritance, property, family. There are also smaller formations that are part of any of the above. The Institute of Jurisprudence is not such a permanent type of legal relationship, but just a generalization of the norms that are significant for a given period of time.
Legal specialization
Possessing legal knowledge and applying it, lawyers ensure the rule of law and the impact of monitoring compliance with the law in all areas of society. In order to master the foundation, the basis of knowledge in this area, you need to undergo the training that is offered by law, universities in this area. The degree of teaching the necessary disciplines varies in terms and loads, among which there are training options lasting five or six years (optionally, additional master's program (2 years)).
In jurisprudence, several specializations are distinguished. They are distinguished by a set of disciplines, which has a certain impact on the choice of a future profession by a student who has the right to do so. Jurisprudence is divided into the following specializations: state law, international law, civil law, and also criminal law. In the framework of this classification, another kind of discipline is also studied: issues of international law, human rights, international security, etc.
Law in society
Legal culture is considered one of the forms where the culture of our society is presented to one degree or another. Jurisprudence is a large-scale specialty. The study, research and application of legal relations inevitably rests on the fundamental conceptual characteristics of a modern developed society (the ratio of sociology and cultural studies). Legal responsibility is a type of social guarantee, which is in the field of the study of psychology. All this comes down to the essence of the relationship of individuals to the laws of the state. As a rule, a person who finds himself in a difficult situation is unlikely to be able to independently understand a huge number of legislative acts in order to choose the most suitable one for use in their favor. For this, there are lawyers for such work to be done. Jurisprudence helps them adequately operate with innovations in the legislation, competently advise and help a specific person who seeks legal services.