Instituto de Estudios Políticos y Derecho Público "Dr. Humberto J. La Roche"
de la Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas de la Universidad del Zulia
Maracaibo, Venezuela
Esta publicación cientíca en formato digital es continuidad de la revista impresa
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Vol.39 N° 68
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ISSN 0798- 1406 ~ De pó si to le gal pp 198502ZU132
Cues tio nes Po lí ti cas
La re vis ta Cues tio nes Po lí ti cas, es una pu bli ca ción aus pi cia da por el Ins ti tu to
de Es tu dios Po lí ti cos y De re cho Pú bli co “Dr. Hum ber to J. La Ro che” (IEPDP) de la Fa-
cul tad de Cien cias Ju rí di cas y Po lí ti cas de la Uni ver si dad del Zu lia.
En tre sus ob je ti vos fi gu ran: con tri buir con el pro gre so cien tí fi co de las Cien cias
Hu ma nas y So cia les, a tra vés de la di vul ga ción de los re sul ta dos lo gra dos por sus in ves-
ti ga do res; es ti mu lar la in ves ti ga ción en es tas áreas del sa ber; y pro pi ciar la pre sen ta-
ción, dis cu sión y con fron ta ción de las ideas y avan ces cien tí fi cos con com pro mi so so cial.
Cues tio nes Po lí ti cas apa re ce dos ve ces al año y pu bli ca tra ba jos ori gi na les con
avan ces o re sul ta dos de in ves ti ga ción en las áreas de Cien cia Po lí ti ca y De re cho Pú bli-
co, los cua les son so me ti dos a la con si de ra ción de ár bi tros ca li fi ca dos.
ESTA PU BLI CA CIÓN APA RE CE RE SE ÑA DA, EN TRE OTROS ÍN DI CES, EN
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Re vicyhLUZ, In ter na tio nal Po li ti cal Scien ce Abs tracts, Re vis ta In ter ame ri ca na de
Bi blio gra fía, en el Cen tro La ti no ame ri ca no para el De sa rrol lo (CLAD), en Bi blio-
gra fía So cio Eco nó mi ca de Ve ne zue la de RE DIN SE, In ter na tio nal Bi blio graphy of
Po li ti cal Scien ce, Re vencyt, His pa nic Ame ri can Pe rio di cals In dex/HAPI), Ul ri ch’s
Pe rio di cals Di rec tory, EBS CO. Se en cuen tra acre di ta da al Re gis tro de Pu bli ca cio-
nes Cien tí fi cas y Tec no ló gi cas Ve ne zo la nas del FO NA CIT, La tin dex.
Di rec to ra
L
OIRALITH
M. C
HIRINOS
P
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Co mi té Edi tor
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Go ran Ther born
Frie drich Welsch
Asis ten tes Ad mi nis tra ti vos
Joan López Urdaneta y Nil da Ma rín
Re vis ta Cues tio nes Po lí ti cas. Av. Gua ji ra. Uni ver si dad del Zu lia. Nú cleo Hu ma nís ti co. Fa-
cul tad de Cien cias Ju rí di cas y Po lí ti cas. Ins ti tu to de Es tu dios Po lí ti cos y De re cho Pú bli co
“Dr. Hum ber to J. La Ro che”. Ma ra cai bo, Ve ne zue la. E- mail: cues tio nes po li ti cas@gmail.
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Vol. 39, Nº 68 (Enero - Junio) 2021, 811-823
IEPDP-Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas - LUZ
Recibido el 15/07/2020 Aceptado el 12/11/2020
Legal Values of Russian Conservatism
and Their Impact on Professional
Legal Consciousness
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46398/cuestpol.3968.53
Angelina Yurievna Kuzubova *
Alexander Modestovich Podoksenov **
Larisa L. Solovyova ***
Olga Andreevna Kvasova ****
Maria Alexandrovna Podoksenova *****
Abstract
Of scientic interest is the process and the result of the cognitive
activity of law enforcement, which affects the functioning of the
entire legal system. The problem of developing the professional
legal conscience of law enforcement is revealed through the study
of its value component, so the reference to the legal axiology of 19th-century
Russian conservatism is a relevant scientic issue. The authors consider the
opinions of the main conservative thinkers of the pre-revolutionary period:
K. N. Leontiev and K. P. Pobedonostsev, the heritage of I. A. Ilyin that
belongs to the rst quarter of the twentieth century, etc. It is concluded that
professional legal understanding must be based both on the modern legal
paradigm and on the national legal tradition, mentality and established
positive social practices. It is necessary to correlate values of the ethical
and legal categories: justice and truth, rights and duties, dignity and honor,
freedom, equality, order, etc. It can be said that the modern legal conscience
of special subjects accumulates many legal values of Russian conservatism,
including «justice», «order», «responsibility».
Keywords: legal values; political-legal doctrine; professional legal
conscience; Russian conservatism; professional ethics of
lawyers.
* Voronezh State Pedagogical University, Voronezh, Russia. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-
6903-1628. Email: angelinakuzubova@mail.ru
** Bunin Yelets State University, Yelets, Russia. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6405-6140.
Email: podoksenov2006@rambler.ru
*** Russian State University of Justice (Central Branch of the Russian State University of Justice),
Voronezh, Russia. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7150-6621. Email: solo_l1974@mail.ru
**** Belgorod State University, Belgorod, Russia. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3217-9968.
Email: olya-dvornichenko@mail.ru
***** Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-
1931-3264. Email: mariapodoksenova@gmail.com
812
Angelina Yurievna Kuzubova, Alexander Modestovich Podoksenov, Larisa L. Solovyova, Olga
Andreevna Kvasova y Maria Alexandrovna Podoksenova
Legal Values of Russian Conservatism and Their Impact on Professional Legal Consciousness
Valores jurídicos del conservatismo ruso y su
inuencia en la conciencia jurídica profesional
Resumen
De interés cientíco es el proceso y el resultado de la actividad cognitiva
de los encargados de hacer cumplir la ley, que afecta al funcionamiento de
todo el sistema jurídico. El problema del desarrollo de la conciencia jurídica
profesional de los encargados de hacer cumplir la ley se revela a través del
estudio de su componente de valor, por lo que la referencia a la axiología
jurídica del conservadurismo ruso del siglo XIX es una cuestión cientíca
relevante. Los autores tienen en cuenta las opiniones de los principales
pensadores conservadores del período pre-revolucionario: K. N. Leontiev y
K. P. Pobedonostsev, la herencia de I. A. Ilyin que pertenece al primer cuarto
del siglo XX, etc. Se concluye que la comprensión jurídica profesional debe
basarse tanto en el paradigma jurídico moderno como en la tradición jurídica
nacional, la mentalidad y las prácticas sociales positivas establecidas. Es
necesaria la correlación de valores de las categorías éticas y jurídicas:
justicia y verdad, derechos y deberes, dignidad y honor, libertad, igualdad,
orden, etc. Puede armarse que la conciencia jurídica moderna de los
sujetos especiales acumula muchos valores jurídicos del conservadurismo
ruso, entre ellos la «justicia», el «orden», la «responsabilidad».
Palabras clave: valores jurídicos; doctrina política-jurídica; conciencia
jurídica profesional; conservadurismo ruso; ética
profesional de los abogados.
Introduction
The ethical teaching of A. Schweitzer dated to the rst quarter of the
20
th
century stated that law had lost its moral content: “We have entered
into a period in which the feeling for law is hopelessly bereft of force, of
soul, and sense of moral obligation. It is a period of lawfulness. Parliaments
produce with easy readiness statutes that contradict the idea of law. States
deal arbitrarily with their subjects without regard to the maintenance of any
feeling for law” (Schweitzer, 1992). The Russia of the 21st century experiences
the uncertainty of spiritual, moral, and legal values and guidelines, which
makes it important to search for ways to preserve Russian legal culture
and revive Russian traditions undermined by globalization. Therefore, the
correlation of moral-legal values and the system of legal regulation affects
not only the sphere of theoretical research but also practical issues. This
concerns complex phenomena connected with the inltration of regulatory
institutions into the inner world of a person, encouraging the formation of
legal duties and moral obligations to follow legal norms.
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The perception and reproduction of legal consciousness is a complex
process but is simpler than the formation of moral consciousness. One
makes a moral choice while appealing to the higher regulators and being
aware of personal responsibility. On the contrary, compliance with law exists
in the framework of uniform provisions and legal responsibility. According
to A.A. Guseinov (2002), the modern high-tech world moves “towards
social systems that can function regardless of people’s moral qualities and
motives”. How will society exist without its moral foundations? Will it be
able to realize its potential, in particular, its legal system? In our opinion,
law deprived of moral foundations cannot acquire genuine legitimacy based
on its ability to maintain order, protect citizens and restore justice. Thus,
this article aims at studying the impact of legal values common to Russian
conservatism on the professional legal consciousness of law enforcers.
The development of the professional legal consciousness of law
enforcement ofcers is analyzed through the study of its values. Thus, it
is recommended to refer to the legal axiology of Russian conservatism of
the 19th century. The signicance of the issues considered requires both
special studies and their consolidation in regulatory legal acts. The analysis
of axiological aspects typical of the Russian conservative doctrine, which
keeps ideas and concepts on the formation and development of Russia, is
important for understanding the essential features of the political and legal
status of the state.
1. Methods
The philosophical foundations of science comprise epistemological,
ontological, logical-methodological, and axiological aspects. Being a theory
of cognition, epistemology analyzes the essence of techniques, forms, and
methods of cognition, as well as sets the limits of cognoscibility of objects
and phenomena. The ontological section of philosophy is a teaching
about general categories and objective laws co-existing with the theory
of knowledge and logic. The logical-methodological section develops the
relationship between concepts, reasons and judgments in the context of
denying the cognitive abilities of a person, their intuition and feelings. The
axiological section of philosophy considers values and their hierarchy.
The axiological approach allows combining the evaluative and goal-
setting functions of culture. The latter is regarded as a comprehensive
phenomenon, without opposing creativity to traditions. The values-based
approach to legal thinking proceeds from the perception of law as an
axiological-normative system developed in specic historical conditions
within the framework of certain religious, cultural, and moral attitudes. This
system is recognized and embodied in the behavior of the relevant subjects.
It emphasizes the continuity of legal norms expressed not only through
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Angelina Yurievna Kuzubova, Alexander Modestovich Podoksenov, Larisa L. Solovyova, Olga
Andreevna Kvasova y Maria Alexandrovna Podoksenova
Legal Values of Russian Conservatism and Their Impact on Professional Legal Consciousness
regulatory acts but also through values. In conformity with this approach,
values are both methods and goals of cognition. If law is considered from
the values-based perspective, it is possible to overcome the impersonal
nature of law and avoid its excessive rationalization.
The methodology of this study is conditioned by the set of methods used by
Russian conservatism with due regard to the original worldview of this scientic
doctrine. The chosen methods depend on specic objects of cognition, which
means that each issue involves the use of its own methods. The comparative-
legal method plays an important role in Russian conservatism and consists
in establishing similarities or differences among the legal phenomena under
consideration. The new phenomena are compared with the phenomena already
studied to reveal the essence of the rst. In the context of specic historical
analysis, this method allows determining and examining the trends and patterns
of legal processes and phenomena.
The formal-legal method describes, generalizes, classies, systematizes,
and transfers the acquired knowledge in a certain way. Using this method,
we identied principles, norms and provisions reecting legal values of
Russian conservatism of different historical periods. The study of the above-
mentioned problems involved the use of various methods, both general
(analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, abstraction, systemic analysis)
and special scientic methods (historical, comparative-legal, etc.).
2. Results and Discussion
The legal status of society is predetermined by many factors, including
the professional understanding of law by special subjects (law enforcement
ofcers). Such legal thinking is a process and result of the cognitive activity
of law enforcement ofcers that affects the functioning of the entire legal
system. No appeal to legal values and their perception within “the pure
theory of law” deprives legal actions of any meaning. Utilized, pragmatic and
formalized law cannot improve a person, as well as provide social harmony
and stability. The need to replicate form and content through semantic
components is an activity of lawyers. Within such an understanding, law
can fulll its high mission of achieving justice and not turning into an
expired form.
Being at the center of legal regulation, lawyers contribute to the creation
of laws and their implementation; therefore, they bear much social
responsibility. The nature of professional legal activity allows lawyers
to be regarded as creators of legal culture. To a large extent, the level of
law and order in society depends on lawyers involved in law-making, law
enforcement, law protection and other activities.
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The professional legal consciousness of lawyers is a special form
in the system of legal views, values and skills conditioned by an
appropriate academic degree and practical experience. Specic features
of the professional legal consciousness of lawyers are as follows: in-depth
theoretical and practical knowledge in certain areas of law; perception of
the current legal system in its integration; consistency of legal knowledge,
values, and commitments; understanding the essence of legal effects, etc.
(Baranov, 2006). At the same time, the professional legal consciousness of
lawyers is heterogeneous, which is due to the diversity of their competences
and the specics of their legal activity.
A component of the lawyer’s status is the professional axiosphere that
embodies the values and meanings of this profession, its norms, rules,
traditions, etc. This occupation implies not only the possession of special
knowledge, skills and competences conrmed by appropriate diplomas,
certicates, and other documents but also values-based orientations
towards serving public goals. Professional afliation with the legal
profession presupposes a positive assessment of the current law and a well-
formed desire to embody legal values in ofcial and private practice. The
knowledge of laws does not imply their correct assessment. On the contrary,
even an adequate assessment can undermine the regulatory potential of law
due to the prevalence of negative legal attitudes.
The professional ethics of lawyers is characterized by a high level of
integration between legal and moral norms that govern their activities. Law
enforcement ofcers (in particular, judges, prosecutors, and investigators)
have a special status and fulll their mission relying not only on law, but
also on their conscience and moral convictions. Special functions of the
legal community necessitate the introduction of increased requirements for
the moral status of its members, which was embodied in the development
of ethical norms. For example, there are the Code of Professional Ethics
of Lawyers in the Russian Federation (Council of the Federal Chamber of
Lawyers of the Russian Federation, 2003), the Code of Professional Ethics
for Procuracy Ofcers in the Russian Federation (Prosecutor’s Ofce of
the Russian Federation, 2010), the Code of Judicial Ethics in the Russian
Federation (All-Russian Congress of Judges, 2012), the Code of Professional
Ethics for Notaries in the Russian Federation (Ministry of Justice of the
Russian Federation, 2016), etc.
According to V.V. Sorokin (2010), “every person has not only a justied
legal but also a moral obligation to obey the existing norms since law
prescribes the same external behavior as the one considered moral and just
by the still small voice”. Such categories as “conscience”, “justice” and “duty”
determine the substantial component of law. Dening legal consciousness
as an instinctive sense of law, the will to spirit, justice and goodness, I.A.
Ilyin believed that it is expressed through conscience and religious feelings:
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Angelina Yurievna Kuzubova, Alexander Modestovich Podoksenov, Larisa L. Solovyova, Olga
Andreevna Kvasova y Maria Alexandrovna Podoksenova
Legal Values of Russian Conservatism and Their Impact on Professional Legal Consciousness
“Indeed, legal consciousness can be considered outside the framework of
religion and conscience, like one’s will be devoid of heaven and earth. It
will be <...> a shallow form deprived of the gift of love and contemplation”
(Ilyin, 1993: 236).
As a category of ethics, conscience reects the ability to perform self-
evaluation and correlate one’s behavior with the requirements of morality,
which helps a person to choose a suitable behavioral pattern. Conscience is
independent of society and state, but it is important for these institutions
since it creates ideological preferences. The modern legal theorist R.S.
Bainiyazov dened legal conscience as “an intuitive understanding and
striving for a just life and moral law” (Polyakov and Timoshina, 2005). The
Orthodox perception of conscience focuses on the fact that it is an innate
moral feeling that unites a person with the Creator and distinguishes
between good and evil outside the framework of rational comprehension.
This is an internal “judge” who approves thoughts, intentions, and actions.
The legal dimension of conscience lies in its potential as a spiritual and
moral law to ensure the correct assessment, respect, and observance of
legal rights without external means of coercion. Conscience coexists with
the feelings of duty, responsibility, and shame. The latter is expressed in
self-reproach and awareness of spiritual unworthiness when some immoral
act is suddenly exposed. Duty should be interpreted as moral readiness to
perform certain actions and be responsible for them. Responsibility reects
the person’s perception of moral and legal values and the ability to act,
realizing the consequences of such actions.
It is hard to overestimate the role of conscience in the legal regulation
of social relations. This moral feeling largely ensures legitimate behavior.
The development of conscience creates natural respect for law without any
coercive measures. On the contrary, the lack of conscience encourages a
person to commit immoral and illegal acts and violate the established social
order.
The well-developed system of legal values is a required attribute of any
law enforcement ofcer. However, the judge’s values play a special role.
By virtue of its social mission, justice should comply with humanistic
traditions expressed in values-based attitudes towards a person. The
signicance of the judicial system cannot be neglected since it aims at
restoring justice, maintaining order, resolving conicts, protecting rights,
and mediating different types of social relations. I.Ya. Foinitskii described
the role of justice in the following way: “Among state responsibilities, one
of the most important is the obligation to administer justice. This function
conditions the formation of the judiciary as a branch of state power and
complements the other branches of government (legislative and executive)”
(Foinitskii, 1996). Modern legal science considers justice as a specic type
of state activity or judiciary function aimed at analyzing and resolving social
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conicts associated with the actual or alleged violation of laws (Rzhevskii
and Chepurnova, 1998).
Furthermore, justice is inherent in fairness and these categories are
often identied. Fairness is manifested in the adequacy and compliance of
the applicable laws with moral norms while assessing some act or attitude
subject to judicial proceedings. In the context of legal proceedings, fairness
has many aspects. First, it is an imperative that makes a person act in
conformity with objective truth, law and their own conscience, relying on
the facts established in a particular case. Fairness implies compliance with
the concept of due order, equality of all society members, application of
just laws, independent and impartial courts, proportionality of action and
retribution, etc. Judicial decisions should meet the criteria of fairness. In
the context of legal proceedings, the procedure is to establish the truth,
ensure the equality of parties and clarify all circumstances.
The founder of the Russian judicial ethics A.F. Koni (2011) believed that
judges should exert all the powers of their mind and conscience to nd the
truth in a certain case, while judicial verdicts should be based not only on
logical inevitability but also on moral obligations. The Russian lawyer tried
to reveal the functioning of the judge’s inner convictions and determine
moral components of the administration of justice at the theoretical level.
According to A.F. Koni, the application of any law regardless of a particular
situation is unworthy of a judge. Indeed, true justice lies in reasonable
humanity. The special legal status of a judge presupposes certain
professional, legal, psychological, moral, and ethical qualities. Therefore, it
is a priority task to develop the legal culture and moral consciousness of the
judiciary. This goal can be achieved through strengthening and improving
the Russian judicial system.
Modern procedural and material laws legitimized such personal and
moral categories as “conscience”, “dignity” and “inner conviction”, which
emphasizes subjective and creative principles of justice. For example, the
Law of the Russian Federation “On the Status of Judges in the Russian
Federation” contains the following oath of a judge: “I solemnly swear to
perform my duties honestly and conscientiously, to administer justice
obeying only the law, to be objective and fair, as the duty of a judge and my
conscience require” (Russian Federation. Federal Law, 1992). Thus, legal
proceedings cannot be assessed with due regard to the judge’s knowledge
of positive law. Only the unity of normative and values-based systems
guarantees the professionalism of the servants of Themis.
Clause 1 of Article 17 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian
Federation reads, “The judge, the jurors, as well as the prosecutor, the
investigator and the inquirer, shall assess the proof in accordance with
their inner conviction and shall rely in doing this on the law and on their
conscience” (The State Duma of the Russian Federation, 2001). An inner
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Angelina Yurievna Kuzubova, Alexander Modestovich Podoksenov, Larisa L. Solovyova, Olga
Andreevna Kvasova y Maria Alexandrovna Podoksenova
Legal Values of Russian Conservatism and Their Impact on Professional Legal Consciousness
conviction is a complex category dened as a subjective sense of condence
and consideration of the truth, which helps judges build up an opinion
regarding the rightness of the party to criminal proceedings and their guilt
or innocence. Inner convictions form during an objective assessment of a
particular case from the standpoint of law and with due regard to moral
responsibility in relation to the parties of specic legal relations and society
as a whole.
While administering justice, it is necessary to consider such a legal
value of Russian conservatism of the 19
th
century as a legal obligation that
implies the fusion of a “moral duty” and a “legal obligation”. The Russian
specic laws and acts issued by the judicial community emphasize the
convergence of professional activity and moral duty. The Code of Judicial
Ethics introduced rules of conduct that are binding on every judge and
based on high moral and ethical requirements (All-Russian Congress
of Judges, 2012). The act adopted by the judicial community establishes
increased moral and ethical requirements for judges due to their status.
In particular, “the judge shall be guided by generally accepted standards
of morality, value the honor, avoid everything that could belittle authority
of judicial authority and cause damage to the reputation of the judge” (All-
Russian Congress of Judges, 2012).
The issue of freedom (in particular, the freedom of choice) is no less acute
in the context of being responsible and understanding the consequences
of an act of justice. Being connected with moral imperatives, freedom and
independence ensure the fair and impartial activity of judges. The category
of “judicial discretion” should eliminate ambiguities and legal limitations by
specifying the disputed law. D.M. Chechot (1973) dened judicial discretion
as the freedom of a judge to make an appropriate decision. D.V. Boiko (2011)
explained discretion by the objective inability to regulate all the variety of
legal relations by the general norm, evaluative concepts, dispositive and
peremptory norms of law, containing specic or alternative sanctions, open
legal lists, legal gaps and conicts of law. Judicial discretion allows critically
considering the rules of law, assessing and analyzing them by referring to
legal ideals and principles. The freedom of judicial discretion limits the
independent will of judges, within which verdicts are delivered. The moral
and legal boundaries of judicial discretion are dened by the categories of
justice, honesty, and rationality.
The conservative thinker of the 19th century K.N. Leontev considered
internal contradictions of the institute of justice. In his opinion, it is not
able to nd the highest truth and restore the highest justice. According to
the philosopher, “the Russian proverb says where there is a court, there
is a lie... The proverb does not mean that all courts are unjust. However,
all human institutes have a tendency towards untruth and therefore some
legal proceedings are unfair in nature… After all, the Russian people (and
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any people who have not been bewildered by democratic ideas yet) do
not believe in the truth on earth...” (Leontev, 2003). Thus, K.N. Leontev
emphasized that any judicial act is based on the judge’s interpretation of
law, moral sense of conscience and inner conviction, which does not exclude
the possibility of a failure or unfair decision.
K.P. Pobedonostsev criticized judicial institutions in the following
manner: “We have a machine for creating articial truth but the truth itself
cannot be seen in the solemn vanity of machine production. It is overlaid by
the noise of the wheels turning inside this huge mechanism. People look for
moral strength, alas, almost all the potential of this machine is wasted on
the friction of the wheels making continuous motion. Almost all the moral
efforts are spent on lubricating these wheels and their conductor tracks.
Courts hear cases in all their priestly dignity. Like the ancient Augurs,
they listen until their attention grows blunt... However, the main victim
of this torture is the unfortunate truth that should make its way to the
promised paradise along the narrow bridge of Mohammed. Woe betide
those who rely on their own powers along the way” (Pobedonostsev, 1996).
The philosopher highlighted the need to overcome the formal nature of
legal proceedings and acknowledge the priority of law and conscience in
establishing the truth and ensuring justice.
The shortcomings of the current judicial system can be overcome if
courts are authorized to creatively apply laws, condence in the judiciary
is increased and transparency in judicial activities and other measures
are ensured. The credibility of courts is built through the compliance of
its activities with justice, legality, and the adopted complex of professional
ethics. Adherence to ethical norms and professional rules during a court
session, as well as the moral position of a judge, reected in a verdict,
serve as criteria for assessing the judge’s status by public opinion, which
inuences the authority of courts. The Russian state needs not only to
improve the existing legal framework but also to increase the legal culture
of lawyers because their professional legal consciousness is somehow
deformed. Legal thinking should be enriched with the achievements of legal
science, intellectual traditions of the Russian politics and jurisprudence,
new approaches that can t into the existing legal framework.
The judge’s socialization presupposes the evolution of their values
through the interaction of personality traits and the external professional
environment. President of the Constitutional Court V.D. Zorkin did not
support the opposition of an individual and state. He stated, “For this, we
do not need to change the core of our culture, we should correlate the spirit
of our people and the content of law, traditions and innovations” (Zorkin,
2013). It is necessary to form the professional legal consciousness of judges
based on the moral values of honor, dignity, the special duty of the servants
of Themis, etc. Moreover, morality and ethics should be protected by justice,
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Angelina Yurievna Kuzubova, Alexander Modestovich Podoksenov, Larisa L. Solovyova, Olga
Andreevna Kvasova y Maria Alexandrovna Podoksenova
Legal Values of Russian Conservatism and Their Impact on Professional Legal Consciousness
otherwise, they will destabilize the system of legal values. Unfortunately,
the current legislation does not ensure the true independence of judges
from other branches of the state power and the higher authorities within
the judicial system. As a result, judges are turned de facto into ordinary
ofcials, which does not correspond to the nature of justice and its social
mission.
The unity of values-based orientations is signicant for classifying
professional groups of lawyers. Legal values and ideals are the main
components of the lawyer’s socialization in the structure of professional
legal consciousness. Therefore, any failures in the axiosphere trigger the
mechanism of destruction.
Conclusion
The signicance of the study results is predetermined by the following
facts. The importance of judicial decisions imposes requirements not only
on their quality and legality but also strengthens public demand for their
humanity and justice. It is impossible without the axiological correlation
of such ethical and legal categories as justice and truth, rights and duties,
dignity and honor, freedom, equality, order, etc. One more development
direction is the need to improve legal educational strategies and overcome
technocratic that falsely represent law as orders and directives issued by
authorities.
Unlike other public authorities, courts have the legislatively enshrined
ability to conduct their activities based on the categories of “conscience”,
“honor”, “dignity”, “honesty”, “justice”, “good faith” and “duty”. Their high
status is due to the fact that they are the nal instance and have powers to
supplement and enrich the existing law with new norms of morality and
ethics to obtain public and state benets.
Legal traditions of Russian conservatism reect the priority of mercy
and philanthropy over legality (Kuzubova, 2020). The conservatism of
modern legal consciousness manifests itself in the fact that the changes
caused by drastic judicial reforms have little affected the foundations of
professional legal thinking. At the same time, professional legal thinking
should proceed from modern legal paradigms, the Russian legal traditions,
mindset and established positive social practices. Trust in the judicial
system is a prerequisite for its effective functioning. This trust is built over
independent, fair, and humane justice, capable of harmoniously combining
the requirements of law and the human spirit. Judges should not forget that
a person who has an inalienable right to dignity falls in the sphere of their
professional responsibility.
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Vol. 39 Nº 68 (Enero - Junio 2021): 811-823
The professional understanding of law by special subjects (law
enforcement ofcers) largely affects the legal status of society. Being a
process and result of the cognitive activity of law enforcement ofcers,
legal thinking embodies the values and meanings of this profession, its
norms, rules, traditions, etc. The modern legal consciousness of special
subjects accumulates many legal values of Russian conservatism, including
justice, order, and responsibility. Judges also focus on the improvement of
moral qualities in the context of professional development. The effective
functioning of the judicial system is conditioned by trust in this institute,
which is possible only under the administration of truly independent, fair,
and humane justice, capable of converging the legal prescriptions and
human needs.
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Esta revista fue editada en formato digital y publicada
en enero de 2021, por el Fondo Editorial Serbiluz,
Universidad del Zulia. Maracaibo-Venezuela
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