Law as a Value: The View of Russian Lawyers of the Late 19th to the Early 20th Century

Abstract

The overcoming of the utilitarian approach of law in the Russian Empire took place in the second half of the XIX century in the process of a widespread controversy over the most adequate comprehension of it. The value of law is determined by Russian lawyers (with the exception of P.I. Novgorodtsev, who considers law as an internal absolute value of a person), based on its social purpose, the functions that it performs in relation to society, the individual, and the state. Interpreting law as the most important cultural benefit and a factor of progress, the authors see its importance in the organization of public life, protective and regulatory impact on public relations, in ensuring legal and social justice, in educating the population, forming the legal consciousness of individuals, protecting the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of citizens. The principle of the supremacy of law is postulated by the authors as the highest value of modern humanity.