The changes that are observed at present in the life of Russian citizens are the reason for stimulating research in the state and legal sphere. Both one and the second social phenomenon (state and law) personify an object of increased interest on the practical side and they play one of the main roles in the life of an individual and the public as a whole.
Almost no human activity can do without the involvement of legal relations in which the state is an active participant. There are rules for maintaining such relations - special rules. The concept, characteristics and types of rules of law - these are the questions that will be raised in this article. They are characterized by relevance. And it’s absolutely unimportant what age in the yard. So sit back and start reading.
Concept and signs of the rule of law: cheat sheet
The word "norm" is a concept known to all, as it is used in many sciences, including the legal one. But in whatever area it is used, everywhere it is primarily a rule.
So, the rule of law is a formal behavioral rule, which is generally binding in nature and gives the participants of the relationship the corresponding opportunities and obligations of a legal orientation. Its author is the state.
It also defines the signs of law. The legal norm also embodies the precept, instruction, law. Moreover, their main purpose is also the regulation of public relations.
The rules of law exist absolutely in any state-organizational society. As already mentioned, certain norms can be found in all areas of human activity. To understand that this particular rule is legal, you need to know what are the signs of the rule of law, and be able to identify them.
Normative
Legal norms are inherent in a general nature. They are designed for all identical cases, and not for a specific life event. This is the main tool in the regulation of relations in society, the essence of which is expressed in the statutory rights and obligations of the subject (s) of law, which are then subject to specific subjective nature. The ideally considered feature is manifested in the thoughts of the lawyers of ancient Rome regarding the legal norm, some of which argued that rights should be established, others continued - only for events of a systematic nature (that is, they are repeated regularly), and still others determined the circle of persons for whom they are established.
Systematic and hierarchical
Signs of a rule of law include integrity and subordination. Public relations is a very complex phenomenon, which can only be regulated by legal norms in their entirety. In other words, no rule of law will be able to resolve relations on its own, no matter how many attempts would have been made. For example, in order for a criminal to be punished, one should turn to criminal law and look for a certain norm in it, and then consider many other criminal procedural legal norms that will identify the procedure for instituting criminal proceedings, research activities and judicial review.
In addition, consistency is expressed in the current legal force of a separate legal norm, that is, its position in the hierarchical ladder of acts. In the case when the rules of law contradict each other, they are found in different normative acts, but they have the same direction (the regulation of a specific type of relationship in society), great legal force goes to the norm of that normative document, which is higher in the hierarchy. Accordingly, the answer to the question "what are the signs of the rule of law" will feature the third. It is called hierarchy.
General obligation
They reveal the mandatory fulfillment of a legal norm prescribed by the state for all citizens of the Russian Federation and their organizations, regardless of status, position, etc. Therefore, both legal entities and individuals registered in Russia have an obligation to fulfill a number of norms. The latter, in turn, consist in observing the algorithm of actions, rules of behavior, etc.
Certainty
The answer to the question "what are the signs of the rule of law" implies a criterion such as certainty. It must be understood that we are talking about the certainty of the formulaic type, which lies in the content of the legal norm itself. This feature provides a characteristic of the social value of law, makes it possible to operate with the law for the development of the public in the target direction.
Non-personalization
A sign of a rule of law is a public order. The addressees of legal norms are a circle of persons, which is determined by species characteristics. In the rule of law, such words as a citizen, legal entity, each and other names of non-personalized recipients are used to identify those people whom it is aimed at.
Multiplicity
Also included in the list of "Key features of the rule of law." The fact that absolutely any legal norm is created for permanent use, unless otherwise specified in the content of the norm itself, testifies to the frequency of action.
Compliance with the rule of law is also enforced, if, of course, such a need exists.
What are the signs of the rule of law, you already know. Now let's look at their structural features. They play an important role.
Structuring Issues
The structure of a legal norm is a combination of the internal structure of a prescription, its constituent parts and relations, which are characteristic of them. This problem does not yet have a single solution in legal science.
The rules of law not only construct basic behavioral requirements. They also indicate a situation in which the latter are subject to unquestioning execution, and also show the possible consequences if they are ignored. Given the foregoing, we can conclude that the concept of law, signs, has a rule of law. The structure is also defined. The main structural units are:
- hypothesis;
- disposition;
- sanction.

These single elements make up the logical content, which can be written in the form of a calculation formula. If in a certain situation the subject performs specific actions, then the corresponding consequences occur. These three structural units are combined into a system and are a combination. As a result, a rule of law, a concept, signs, and its structure are formed. For its formation, the presence of precisely three components is very important, otherwise there can be no talk of a legal norm. At the same time, it should be noted that the rule of law and the text of a legal act may not coincide. And, moreover, this is observed in most cases. There are cases when disposition and hypothesis in the text of a legislative document merge and it is very difficult to separate them. One article may contain one, two, three or more norms. Also, the structural components of a law can be contained in different sections of a legal document, in other words, one legal norm can be presented in several articles of a normative act.
Hypothesis
It is a structural component of the rule of law. Signs, classification, content of the hypothesis are discussed below:
Sign No. 1. Designation of the conditions for its implementation. A hypothesis is a determinant of scale, due to which, without difficulty, this or that situation can be attributed to the action of a specific norm.
The content of the hypothesis:
- a place;
- time;
- subjects;
- others.
The hypothesis puts forward clear requirements for the above. That is, it dictates where the event should take place, for how long, with the participation of which actors, so that this life situation is considered the norm of law.
When all these requirements are met, the state regulation begins to operate.
Hypothesis Classification
Depending on the disclosure and refinement of the content, two types of hypotheses are distinguished: general and specific. The former are also called abstract. They imply the implementation of the norm by common signs, and the cases that relate to them are characterized by mass character, and not a single one is specified.
Specific hypotheses, on the contrary, establish special conditions for fulfilling the norm for each individual case. But given that it is simply unrealistic to foresee all possible situations, such hypotheses have almost completely disappeared from demand.
Depending on the degree of accuracy of the conditions, the hypothesis may be:
- Certain absolutely - transparently and clearly indicates the facts, the presence of which will indicate the need to comply with regulatory requirements.
- Certain relative to - indicate the conditions of functioning of the norm restrictively. For example, there is a list of legal acts that take effect only in cases of an epidemic, the introduction of a state of emergency , etc.
- Uncertain - one fact that is interrelated with the action of the norm is not determined either. Such a hypothesis gives local authorities the right to use the norm in “necessary cases”. Which case is necessary is determined only by them.
Depending on the volume, the hypothesis is:
- Simple. Its sign is the content, in which only one condition of the rule of law is prescribed.
- Complex. This hypothesis contains information on the number of situations that may be the reason for the implementation of a particular legal norm.
Depending on the basis of the prescription, the hypothesis is one-sided and two-sided.
- Unilateral hypotheses imply the presence of either only legitimate circumstances, or only unlawful ones. So, all the norms of the Criminal Code relate to prescriptions, the hypothesis of which is one-sided.
- The two-sided hypothesis contains circumstances of both legal and illegal nature, the presence of which explains the applicable legal requirement. Moreover, the identity of legal results is not guaranteed and depends on the nature of the behavior.
Disposition
It is the second element of the rule of law that defines a behavioral model that is characteristic of the subject of law and has a legal nature. Disposition is the core of the law, because its content identifies a rule of behavior that implies consequences. At the same time, this structural unit is considered the fundamental regulatory part of the regulation.
Disposition Types
Depending on the level of certainty of the specified behavioral rule, the following are distinguished:
- Casual disposition - the basis of the content is a list of specific prescribed or prohibiting acts.
- Abstract disposition - dictates a specific type of behavior, but does not indicate details.
Depending on the way of saying:
- Simple - indicates only a behavioral rule, without defining its attributes due to their obviousness.
- Descriptive - implies a detailed description of the rules of conduct, focusing on its distinguishing features.
- Reference - is nothing more than a reference to another legal norm, which contains a description of a suitable model of behavior.
- Blanket - contains a description of the behavioral manner in general form and does not detail any individual points, signs of an act. However, clarifications and concretization of such dispositions can be found in other regulatory documents.
Depending on the direction of the legal nature:
- Representatively binding - is to clarify the rules of conduct for the two parties that enter into a relationship. A real example is a seller-buyer relationship.
- Binding - defines the behavioral nature of the person who is required. The latter include, for example, a debtor under a loan agreement.
- Managing - indicates the type and measure of acceptable behavior, for example, the owner of real estate.
- Recommender - places particular emphasis on the desirability and appropriateness of a particular behavior.
- Restrictive - behavior within certain boundaries. Thus, the requirements of labor law limit the duration of the work of a person who has not reached 18 years.
- Fixative - here the name speaks for itself. And this disposition concerns the principles and tasks of the activity of state bodies.
Sanction
The third and final structural unit of a legal norm, which provides for legal consequences caused by disposition. There are also several types of them.
Depending on the level of certainty:
- Certain absolutely - in them the measure of impact is clearly fixed.
- Defined relatively - defines the boundary readings of the upper and lower limits of punishment. Such sanctions contain articles of a special part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
- Alternative - implies several alternative types of liability.
- Cumulative is a combination of several punishments. For example, the arrest and confiscation of property.
- Combined - sanctions formed by combining the other two - relatively specific and alternative.
Depending on the nature of the punishment:
- Negative - implies the use of punishments in various forms, including a fine and other punitive measures.
- Positive - practices encouraging and stimulating procedures.
- Remediation - aimed at the recovery process relative to the previous state. For example, compensation for harm caused, cancellation of unlawful acts, enforcement of a previously unfulfilled obligation.
- The denial is a passive reaction on the part of the state to ignoring the requirements of the norm. Form of expression: legal non-recognition of emerging relationships. For example, recognition of a transaction as invalid due to its illegality.
Depending on the direction of the adverse effects:
- Personal - when the sanction concerns directly the person who violated the right.
- Property - punishment, expressed in conjunction with one or another loss of the material plane. For example, confiscation, pecuniary punishment and others.
Classification of Law
The concept, features and classification of legal norms are fixed at the legislative level. The first two points were taken apart, the third remained - classification. So, in order to clearly distinguish between types of legal requirements, a number of classification features have been identified.
1. Depending on the legal force of the act, which contains the norm:
- regulatory;
- legislative;
- prescriptions of decrees;
- others.
If the norm is contained in the law, it is called legislative.
2. Depending on the branch of law:
- civilians;
- financial;
- criminal;
- administrative
- environmental;
- others.
That is, if the order is contained in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, it is considered criminal. If there are signs of administrative law, the order is considered administrative.
3. Depending on the form of prescription:
Signs of the administrative law of this type are categorical and do not allow deviating from the prescription. You can’t say the same with dispositive ones, which allow the possibility of regulating relationships and are used in an additional order.
4. Depending on the form of the dictated behavior:
- rules of authority;
- norms of obligation;
- norms of prohibition.
Governing orders give the legal entity a choice - to act in a specific way or to abandon such acts.
The definition and signs of a normative law of a binding nature indicate the obligations of the subject. This is his plan of action. Moreover, all requirements must be fulfilled.
Prohibitions indicate the inadmissibility of an act.
The legal sphere is very complex, but you need to know such basics as the concept and signs of the rule of law. Cheat sheet in the form of this article let you be of help.