Makarenko L. О. To the question of the interpretation of the concept of «legal culture»
Studies by various authors on the issue of legal culture, is a considerable asset in the legal field and diversity of scientific research.
Currently, the term «legal culture» is widely used by scientists, legislators, politicians, and ordinary citizens. In society there is no single understanding of this phenomenon. Pluralism not only does not solve the problem, but introduces, to some extent, confusion in legal science, causing problems as a scientific and practical nature.
In the 1960-1970 of XX century there was a two-pronged approach to understanding legal culture, namely in accordance with the ideological and legal state of society at a certain stage of its development; from the point of view of ascertaining the aggregate of such components as understanding of the law, ability to apply the law and respect it.
In 1980-1990 attracted the attention of scientists to develop the methodological implications of the concept. In particular, the complex research of the phenomenon of «legal culture» was dedicated to the works of scientists, whose legal culture is considered from two perspectives: first, as a characteristic of the level of development of legal phenomena at a certain stage of development of society (the legal culture of the society); secondly, as a qualitative characteristic of the perception of law and legal behavior of the individual (legal culture of the personality).
In 2000, the attention of scientists is focused on the development of the problems of the legal culture associated with the following directions, namely, theoretical and applied, related to the rulemaking. In the first case examines the problems related to the comprehension of dependencies that occur between the content of legal provisions and values of the civilization (political, moral, aesthetic, etc.). In the second case, it is usually about how exactly a specific legislative norms defining the behavior of the individual in society to ensure compliance and implementation of natural human rights.
Given these and existing in legal science of the interpretation of legal culture, the article attempts to identify and analyze current approaches to its understanding.
Legal culture of any society includes the legislation (legal regulations), legal institutions, legal practice (as an activity of official government agencies, and legal behavior of citizens, their associations), legal consciousness.
Legal cultures are internally dynamic, evolving and improving according to its own logic, its own laws through its bearers (actors - individuals, society, social groups of individuals (youth, pensioners)), which, creating, developing and maintaining the legal domain, are themselves influenced by them.
Legal culture is defined as a separate category to refer to the legal system historically developed institutions of state-organized society, with which it is correlated, but also due to their activities of legal knowledge and motives, forms, techniques and methods of legal activities, values, estimates, by need inherent in every people, class, nation, another social group, individuals at some stage of their development.
Legal culture of any state-organized society is not only contemplating their modern products, but also contains some legal legacy of the past.
In summary, the article states that there are the following modern approaches to the interpretation of the concept of legal culture, including legal culture is considered: as a set of legal phenomena existing in the society; accordingly to the actors; and legal culture identified with the legal systems and families of countries and peoples; as legal inheritance.
Key words: legal culture, the subjects of legal culture, legal system, legal family, legal inheritance.
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