I. A. Pokrovsky, "The main problems of civil law": summary, year of publication and analysis of the monograph

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Many people interested in legal matters know the surname Pokrovsky, the author revealed the main problems of civil law in his work in great detail. He wrote a book for a separate publishing house "Mir" in the section "Results of Science". Civilians of the older generation are familiar with the work, among contemporaries the publication is known only to a narrow circle. The reason lies in the time of publication, which refers to 1917. After the death of the minister of law (1920), his students devoted their speeches to his publications, spoke about the greatest contribution to jurisprudence by these scientists. True, time allowed us to forget about the main direction of Pokrovsky's ideas - the main problems of civil law for a single person, but they again became of interest to modern jurists.

Who is the essay intended for?

The author did not try to create a textbook for lawyers with his work. He wrote it asan educational booklet for a wide range of readers to convey to them the problem of that time. There are no historical or legislative materials in the book, there are no literary quotations. The task for Pokrovsky is to bring the main problems of civil law to the public:

• prospects of evolutionary lines;
• top legal search points;
• eliminate unnecessary elements so as not to weaken the integrity of the impression.

The author argued that despite the change in the social system, the leadership in the country and the differences in regimes, he had no reason to change something in the text. For Pokrovsky, the main problems of civil law still remained in full.

Social Value

Lawyers since ancient times have been trying to fundamentally divide law into types of public and civil. Such a division and its criteria have not been clarified by the prospectors and remain unresolvable for practitioners. Even from Roman law, these definitions were taken, where state interests are protected by public criteria, and individual individuals are protected by civil ones. This formula is untenable, the author believes, since family interests, their property, inheritance are connected with the state and should not be indifferent to it. A more detailed presentation of Pokrovsky's analysis of the main problems of civil law can be found in the next chapter.

Where do historical roots come from?

Society is made up of families, which are the foundation of civic institutions with deep legal underpinnings. Therefore, private law is less flexible than public law. In the state system, positions can often change under the influence of politics and historical processes. In private legal practice, civil foundations remain unchanged for centuries. Peoples go through their historical path with a special collective individuality, but they have a national distinction. The common criterion between them is interpersonal relations and the search for truth. Unity in historical development and the desire of the population to communicate - these are the same legal norms. Such conclusions are presented by Pokrovsky's monograph on the main problems of civil law.

Fundamentals of ideological currents

Considering the ideology of crimes in the essay, the author makes it clear that misdemeanors committed in everyday life are subject to general laws. Human behavior is controlled by social and psychological forces that depend on the consciousness and will of the social system. Direct and practical vital interests are regulated by the existing legislative norms. With the development of society, legal guidelines are systematized, scientific methods are established for their interpretation. So you can convey the thoughts of Pokrovsky and the main problems of civil law in the summary of his work.

Philosophical digression

The author tries to convey to readers the cultural essence and human progress, where culture cannot exist without human morality. Personality creates various works, drawing the fruits of science, art, it develops. In the philosophical conclusion of the author, the mainproblems of civil law consist of a system of different tools that influence human behavior, used as official means, so that society rises morally. The state must recognize every inhabitant as free and ensure cultural, ethnic progress, where law plays the role of mediocre service in the improvement of the individual.

The scientist saw a close connection in the general perspective lines with philosophical questions. The jurists of our time admit how divorced they are from this doctrine, so many questions are decided at random. Modern science teaches lawyers to be afraid of the semblance of metaphysics and not to fantasize with the law. From here there is an immersion in the bustle of everyday life with painstaking dogmatic work. There is no deep ideological current in the theoretical interpretations of the problems. Under such conditions, civil law as a science is out of touch with life, representing dried-up scholasticism, together with civilists, in the form of an obsolete caste.

Before it's too late, it is necessary to cover the problem of a civilistic nature from the side of a general philosophical view, in order to see the human spirit, it is necessary to introduce thinking citizens into the ideological interests. Essays such as those of Pokrovsky set similar goals. The scientist understands that he does not solve the problems of jurisprudence with his conclusions, and he was even surprised that his book aroused interest among prominent lawyers of that time.

It is necessary to take into account the difficulties of the political period, when there were no beaten paths. The scientist moved from one question to another, as if through an impenetrable forest thicket. The author was grateful for the criticism of the reviewers, heassured them that all errors and inaccuracies were weighed and taken into account. He made appropriate corrections in those places of the text with which he agreed. The scientist noted that the book is his first draft of the future major work of the whole society. To create a legitimate state, it is necessary that its population be legally literate.

What issues does the publicist focus on

Pokrovsky Iosif Alekseevich sees the main problems in civil law in the following points:

• certainty of law and so-called free judicial legislative creation;
• strength and subjectivity of law, its abuse;
• protection of the individual with its specific characteristics;
• intangible interests;
• protection of legal entities;
• family relations;
• property and ownership.

The author points out the need to protect possession as a form of ownership of a thing by a certain person.

The idea of contractual freedom

In his monograph, the writer makes clear the importance of the obligations assumed in the contracts. The agreement must be concluded on the basis of a voluntary declaration of will. If such a character is violated, it has a definition - a vice of the will. Pokrovsky's edition of the main problems in civil law points to restrictive principles in agreements:

• public order;
• good morals;
• conscience.

It is necessary to fight if there are facts of economic exploitation, usury. Thosethe times when the work was published, it was noticed that all attempts to regulate the relations of economic entities led to fundamental and practical failure. In modern textbooks, the main problems of civil law do not contain the absence of contractual freedoms. All agreements are executed in accordance with the observance of the rights of both parties. The court considers conflict situations on the basis of the conditions specified in the contract. Failure to fulfill obligations is punishable by pen alties if such requirements are subject to prior written agreement.

What is the responsibility for the harm done

A person who caused damage to someone else's property must compensate for it, and civil proceedings determine the volume and guilt. All principles in identifying guilt, the order of decomposition of offenses must comply with a fair consideration in court with a decision.

The issue of inheritance and the rules for the transfer of property in mandatory shares, in which cases the inheritance can become the property of the state, is separately considered in the monograph.

Result

I. A. Pokrovsky all his life followed his firm convictions in moral duty as a legal scholar. He did not change the policy in civil law, did not create historical foundations in this direction, but no one has such merits. Contemporary scientists believe that he introduced the image of the future system into civil science:

• with main ideas;
• constructivefeatures;
• putting problems before society by jurists.

The whole life of Pokrovsky is a study through:

• search for foundation from past examples of civilizations;
• bringing the theory to real civil law when convinced of one's innocence;
• conclusions about the laws that human relations must comply with in the future.

With his theory, the scientist wanted to ensure that the ancient foundation of jurisprudence was an example and served for the development of human relations in the ideal that he had. Scientific research was not entirely devoted to modern civil law. His passion was the activities of ancient jurists, in particular, Roman lawyers, the foundations of their legislation. One of his works on this issue became a textbook. The "History of Roman Law" completes the historical epic, but even there the theoretical conclusions about civil law are detailed.