methodology

Introduction. The article deals with the theory of law by Nicholas Luhmann as one of the most important conceptual and methodological sources of Western communicative theories of law developed in the context of post-metaphysical thinking in social theory. Theoretical analysis. In the social system of Luhmann, communication communicates, so the concept of Luhmann belongs to the number of non-subjective ones. The legal system in this concept is formed by the diff erentiation of communications, thanks to which a legal co de arises. On its basis, specifi c communications are redefi ned, being included in the legal system. The function of the legal subsystem is to stabilize other subsystems by normalizing the expectations of counterparties and “monitoring” all subsystems. Empirical analysis. Luhmann shows that the justifi cation of law within law is impossible due to the paradox of self-application – law cannot determine whether it is itself a law. The logical paradoxicity of law does not cancel its functionality, since the basis of law is transcendent and is brought into the political system. Results.The Luhmann model of autopoiesis is not correlated with usnaturalism, since it is focused on the processes of social self-organization. It refl ects the classical explanatory schemes traditional for legal positivism, since positivization is ultimately subordinated to the transcendent political basis of law.

Introduction. Universal scientific criteria have their own specific application in law, this is due to at least two circumstances. First, universal scientific criteria are developed in the conditions of the classical philosophical picture of the world, and the question of revision of the system of universal scientific criteria was actualized in the era of post-non-classical philosophy, since not all of them are able to “work” in irrational conditions. The second is related to the general nature of universal criteria that do not take into account initially the features of the object-subject area of legal sciences. This circumstance, coupled with the lack of disciplinary criteria of legal knowledge, “coarsens” the effectiveness of the application of universal criteria to the assessment of legal knowledge for scientific purposes. Accordingly, a combination of, a set of criteria of scientific character in relation to a particular legal phenomena can be varied. These issues require careful study in connection with the emergence of new social phenomena that require legal understanding, the introduction of definitions of their concepts in the categorical apparatus of the general theory of state and law. Purpose. The purpose is to consider the set of universal scientific criteria that are necessary and suitable for the standardization of legal knowledge. Results. Due to the fact that the system of such individual (disciplinary) settings did not work, the universal standards of knowledge developed in philosophy of science are used as the criteria of scientific character of legal science. They represent a complex system of foundations of science, consisting of theoretical and logical, and empirical parameters. However, they are often insufficient for quality assessment of legal knowledge. The article considers how to apply some of the theoretical and logical scientific criteria for the identification of the scientific foundations of different legal phenomena. In other words, it is shown under which conditions (if there are grounds) legal phenomenon can be the object of scientific analysis. Conclusions. Thus, the scientific criteria are necessary evaluation parameters of state-legal phenomena, allowing to standardize legal knowledge. Their system, features of the application depend on the object and subject of science, historical and socio-cultural conditions, as well as the prevailing (dominant) methodology.