The heritage of Leon Petrażycki in the modern legal
doctrine of Ukraine Cover Image

Dziedzictwo prawne Leona Petrażyckiego w nowoczesnej doktrynie prawnej Ukrainy
The heritage of Leon Petrażycki in the modern legal doctrine of Ukraine

Author(s): Wasyl W. Kostytsky
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Civil Law, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Law on Economics, Philosophy of Law, Sociology of Law
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Petrazycki; psychological theory of law; law and ethical experiences; balance of emotion and intellect in law; sociology of law; theological and sociological understanding of law; law and morals

Summary/Abstract: The paper aims to study the work of Leon Petrazycki and analyze modernUkrainian scholars’ opinions on Petrazycki’s scientific achievements. This studyfocuses on Petrazycki’s work, his psychological theory, in particular, in viewof our own perspective on the law and within the framework of our theologicaland sociological theory, which considers the law as a social life phenomenonand regards moral imperative of the Almighty God as the basis of law. Everycivilization communicates moral imperative through sacred writings (the Ten Commandments in Christian Bible, six hundred and seven rules in Jewish Torah,seventy-two rules in Muslim Quran). It is within the framework of this moralimperative that the society and the state develop the law.The paper addresses the modern absurdity and at the same time antinomy oflaw, lying in the fact that there is more and more law in the society but less andless law in life of an individual due to the fact that states rapidly upscale rulemaking,but laws are becoming less accessible to an individual. This study drawson conceptual issues of Petrazycki’s theoretical heritage, fundamental principlesof his psychological theory, as well as connection between law and morality,described by Petrazycki, which are the spiritual heritage of society. The mostimportant issues of Petrazycki’s work, in our opinion, are studying the nature oflaw, balance of emotion and intellect, official and intuitive, desirable and actualcomponents in law, as well as subjective and objective law, law policy and power.The paper reveals that assessment of Petrazycki’s work in modern Ukrainian legal studies is ambivalent: from sharply critical (Prof. P. Rabinovich), compliant with Russian (O. Timoshina (St. Petersburg)) approach and critical yet positive perception of Petrazycki’s psychological theory (S. Maksymov, O. Merezhko, M. Kuz, O. Stovba) to admiration for Petrazycki’s genius, whose work was ahead of his time (I. Bezklubyi, N. Huralenko, V. Dudchenko, O. Rohach, M. Savchyn, V. Tymoshenko). Thus, the research findings suggest that Petrazycki’s work belongs not only to the past, but also to the present and future of jurisprudence, sociology, psychology, economics. Further in-depth analysis of Petrazycki’s heritage will contribute to more accurate diagnosis of urgent legal issues in social development of modern Ukraine, real assertion of personocentrism as a postulate of contemporary theoretical jurisprudence and guidelines for public authorities, as well as practical solution to many controversial scientific and legal issues.

  • Issue Year: 2018
  • Issue No: 74
  • Page Range: 163-184
  • Page Count: 22
  • Language: Polish