Legal consciousness is one of the forms of public consciousness , which is a system of legal views, theories, ideas, perceptions, beliefs, assessments, moods, feelings, which express the attitude of individuals, social groups, the whole society to the existing and desired law, to legal phenomena, to the behavior of people in the field of law, that is, it is the subjective perception of legal phenomena by people.
In psychology and pedagogy, justice is understood as a system of mental properties that are realized in the cognitive and sensory-emotional sphere and determine the subjective reflection of legal reality, as well as social and legal human behavior [1] .
Legal awareness is one of the priority components of the well-known theoretical structure (theoretical body) of more complex forms of legal consciousness (for example, the national "Russian legal consciousness", "Belarusian legal consciousness" etc.).
Content
Legal Content
Being one of the forms of public consciousness, legal consciousness is a combination of views, ideas, perceptions, feelings, people, their associations, the whole society as a whole regarding law and legal phenomena. This is a cognitively evaluative attitude of people to past and current legislation, ideas about its further improvement, about legality, and justice. This also includes the recognition of the objective necessity of law in modern society, its social purpose, connection with such democratic ideals as justice, freedom, natural and inalienable rights of an individual. Finally, this also refers to acts of human behavior, their estimated characteristics in terms of legitimacy or illegality, the totality of psychological attitudes and value orientations towards strict observance of the rule of law.
Determined by the level of development of society, and especially economic relations, legal consciousness is historical in nature. Each epoch of the development of mankind is characterized by different, sometimes contradictory, legal views (justification of slavery, estate division of the population, the idea of democracy and individual freedom, etc.).
Legal consciousness is closely connected with other forms of social consciousness - with moral views, political views, philosophical concepts, ideological theories, reflects national, religious, everyday and other features. In legal ideology, different views and ideas are possible, their struggle among themselves (attitude to the death penalty, land ownership, to the ratio of powers of parliament and president, etc.).
Legal awareness covers the main areas of legally significant human behavior , the implementation of which is regulated by law. The main areas of justice include [2] :
- the sphere of securing material interests (in relation to it, the rights, legal ways to ensure material interests and the procedure for their implementation are determined, administrative and criminal law prohibitions are established that qualify as self-serving crimes);
- the sphere of interaction with other people and other social entities, including representatives of state bodies (as applied to it, the rights and obligations of a competent person, administratively and criminally punishable acts, which are expressed in violent and other harmful acts against social entities);
- the sphere of consumption and leisure , meeting the needs for leisure, entertainment, etc. (this area is characterized by illegal actions that bring physical or moral harm to the subject himself, other people, public morality and other social values) [1].
Legal awareness covers the social roles that a person performs, and the implementation of which provides for certain obligations and prohibitions. Thus, a person performs various socially regulated social roles of a parent, a worker, a witness, a parent, a driver, a passenger, etc. Thus, for persons with children, the duties of material maintenance of minor children, participation in their upbringing, and care for their health are established. A number of civil duties have also been identified, the non-fulfillment of which entails criminal liability, for example, for evading military service, evading testimony, refusing to provide assistance to the injured in certain cases, etc.
The core of personality justice [3] .
The formation of a person’s legal consciousness requires knowledge of its main components (properties), which substantially determine the social and legal behavior of an individual.
Our analysis of the results of philosophical, legal, as well as psychological and pedagogical studies allows us to highlight the following basic properties of legal consciousness (core), which significantly determine the social and legal behavior of a person:
- knowledge of legal requirements (legal knowledge);
- an estimated attitude to the law, legal regulations;
- an estimated attitude to social and legal behavior (law-abiding, unlawful and own);
- the estimated attitude to the subjects of socio-legal behavior (law-abiding person, criminal and victim);
- An appraisal of law-protected social values;
- the estimated attitude to public authorities, including law enforcement agencies, and their activities;
- Estimated attitude towards the fulfillment of a civic duty to participate in the maintenance of law and order;
- social and legal expectations.
Knowledge of legal requirements and prohibitions . Legal knowledge is an important element of a person’s legal preparedness and is one of the conditions for law-abiding behavior. Therefore, the most important area of legal education is legal training.
However, legal knowledge per se, the level of legal preparedness does not significantly affect the direction of social and legal behavior. So, A. R. Ratinov and G. Kh. Efremova empirically prove that the total amount of legal awareness is quite high for both offenders and law-abiding citizens, and even slightly higher for criminals. Similar data were obtained by A. I. Dolgovoy.
Attitude to the law, legal regulations. The attitude of people to the law, based on moral values, acts as a pivotal element of legal awareness and can be negative, contradictory or positive. Not knowledge of the intricacies of legal requirements, but a holistic perception of law as an inviolable institution is the most important determinant of law-abiding behavior. As a rule, people's behavior is caused not by legal norms, but by ideas about the rule of law. Moreover, the harmoniously developed personality of the idea of the rules of law and morality coincide.
Evaluative attitude to law-abiding and unlawful behavior of people, subjects of social and legal behavior. Perception and assessment of the legal behavior of other people is a source of their own legal behavior. An endorsement of certain types of offenses determines their own offending behavior and vice versa. In this regard, for legal educational purposes, it is important to study the individual’s attitude to legitimate and unlawful ways of satisfying needs or resolving problem situations. This component also includes the idea of the legal positions of other people, since the subject of social behavior is characterized by orientation to other people, primarily to those with whom he identifies himself, who represent him as a reference social group.
Attitude to protected social values. Criminal law classifies the peaceful and safe existence of humanity as a protected social value; life, health, honor, dignity, rights, freedoms, personal interests of a person, his property; family relationships; environmental and natural environment; public and state interests (security, public health, public order, etc.), etc.
Attitude to protected social values can be respectful, humane or selfish, consumer, neglectful, hostile. Respect for social values substantially determines the choice of legitimate and morally approved ways of interacting with them. The opposite attitude does not directly determine the propensity of a subject to harmful actions, but is typical for individuals who commit unlawful attacks on them.
Estimated attitudes towards law enforcement agencies and their activities, the fulfillment of a civic duty to participate in maintaining law and order . These structural components of legal consciousness express an attitude to legal control carried out by law enforcement bodies, their identification of illegal acts and persons committing them, to the application of legal sanctions and legal liability measures, the penal system and penalties. Attitude to law enforcement agencies and their activities is one of the main elements of legal awareness that determine the social and legal behavior of people. Moreover, the nature of these relations determines the level of legal activity of citizens in maintaining law and order, the degree of tension in the relationship between the population and the authorities.
Social and legal expectations. Social and legal expectations express ideas about the positive or negative consequences of illegal behavior, as well as the success of law-abiding ways to satisfy needs and interests, and resolve life problems. These expectations relate, on the one hand, to the occurrence or non-occurrence of legal liability for committing unlawful acts (its inevitability or avoidability), and on the other, to the success of lawful ways to satisfy certain interests. Prediction of the legal consequences of an act acts as a deterrent to the commission of a crime .
Forms of manifestation of justice
- Legal ideology (the attitude of society to law in general - the legal environment of the individual): legal doctrines and concepts, principles, the level of legal science as a whole.
- Legal psychology (emotional assessment by society and individuals of legal phenomena): feelings , moods , experiences.
- Individual knowledge of law (the level of knowledge of each individual): the level of a legal scholar, non-specialist, etc.
- Personal values of an individual (personal experience and belief system, based on which a person evaluates legal phenomena).
- The subjective will of the individual is the ability of a person to make a decision on the basis of knowledge and feelings that determines the legitimacy or illegality of his behavior.
Legal Views
- Individual justice - a person’s personal attitude to law (reflects the views and beliefs of a particular individual). The level of legal awareness in this case is determined by the abilities and capabilities of the individual.
- Group - attitude to the law of various small social groups and collectives.
- Corporate - legal awareness of representatives of various professions, social groups and layers, party legal awareness.
- Mass - legal awareness of the vast masses of people.
- Social - attitude to the law of the whole society (the sum of accumulated knowledge, ideas about the law for the entire time of human existence)
For legal education activities, it is important to classify legal consciousness by the level of its formation or legal maturity (development) of a person. In this regard, one can single out the legal consciousness of a person with a law-abiding (normative) and unlawful (contradictory, criminogenic) orientation of behavior. The law-abiding orientation of legal consciousness expresses a personal predisposition to compliance with legal requirements and volitional stability against committing unlawful acts , including resistance to criminogenic circumstances and influences. The unlawful orientation is associated with the presence of legal consciousness defects , which are the personal prerequisites for unlawful behavior. The legal consciousness of a personality of a normative and unlawful orientation can be differentiated with varying degrees of detail depending on the level of formation in the following range: harmoniously normative - contradictory - harmoniously unlawful (criminogenic, criminal). The properties of a person’s legal consciousness of a law-abiding or unlawful orientation of behavior are formed in the process of legal socialization, are interconnected and represent a system. Depending on various conditions, certain properties can be formed better than others, which leads to inconsistency of legal consciousness [1] .
Psychological and pedagogical characteristic of the personality’s legal consciousness of a normative and unlawful orientation of behavior [4]
| Psychological and pedagogical characteristic of personality legal consciousness | |
|---|---|
| legal orientation | illegal orientation (legal defects) |
| Knowledge of legal requirements | |
| Adequate knowledge of legal requirements and prohibitions necessary in order not to intentionally violate the law | Absence or insufficient (gap, fragmentary) knowledge of legal prohibitions, lack of understandable and specific perceptions of criminal or administrative responsibility for the deed |
| Attitude to the law, legal regulations | |
| The attitude to the law is respectful; understanding of the social importance and necessity of legal requirements; conviction of the mandatory fulfillment of the requirements of legal requirements; the notion that most people respect the law and comply with legal requirements; ideas about the validity of legal requirements in society; understanding of the law as a defender of a particular citizen and of the whole society | The attitude to the law, legal regulations is negative or contradictory; representations of legal requirements, rights and obligations inadequate, non-binding, harmful (unnecessary) for people, etc .; the notion that most people disrespect the law and shy away from complying with legal requirements; a view of the injustice of legal requirements in society; the perception of laws as defenders of the state and government, and not of man and society |
| Knowledge and understanding of ways to solve life problems, resolution of problem situations, conflicts | |
| Clear and specific ideas about the legitimate ways to meet their needs in the field of material support of life, interaction with other people (resolving conflict situations), entertainment and leisure (spending free time), ensuring their own rights and interests, as well as the rights and interests of other people; ideas about how to satisfy their needs and interests, as well as life claims are adequate, correspond to the objective and subjective capabilities of the subject; personal unacceptability of an unlawful way of satisfying needs, interests and claims; ideas about illegal ways of satisfying needs as threatening other people; ideas about law-abiding ways of satisfying needs as the only possible and useful for other people | Ignorance of legitimate ways to meet my needs in the field of material support of life, interaction with other people (resolving conflict situations), entertainment and leisure (spending free time), ensuring our own rights and interests, as well as the rights and interests of other people. Disrespect for legitimate ways to meet their needs, rights and interests, as well as the rights and interests of others; ideas about the complexity and difficulty of meeting their needs, rights and interests in a legitimate way; illegal ways of satisfying needs and interests, perceived as “wrong”, but necessary (the only possible) to solve life problems; ideas about the impossibility of lawfully satisfying one’s needs, interests and claims (or it’s possible, but it will require more effort and cost compared to the illegal method) |
| Attitude towards law abiding and unlawful human behavior | |
| Illegal behavior, a criminal way of life are unacceptable (unprofitable, wrong, immoral), expressing a negative attitude towards him and understanding his negative meaning; law-abiding behavior, perceived as "normal", manifested in a positive attitude (beneficial, correct, moral) to a law-abiding lifestyle; condemnation of misconduct | Normative behavior, lifestyle are unacceptable (unprofitable, wrong), the expression of a negative attitude towards him and an understanding of its negative meaning; illegal behavior, perceived as “normal”, expressed in a positive attitude (beneficial, correct) to the criminal way of life; unlawful behavior, perceived as "wrong", but forced to solve life problems; acquittal |
| Representations of a law-abiding person, a person committing an unlawful act and attitude towards him | |
| ideas about the majority of law-abiding people; the conviction that society (most people) morally approves and strongly supports (stimulates) law-abiding behavior of citizens; identification with a law-abiding citizen; the idea that only some people (a small part of society) intentionally commit crimes; condemning attitude to the criminal. | The idea that the majority commit offenses, calm attitude to this; negative attitude to a law-abiding citizen or indifferent neglect; positive attitude to the offender, the absence of a condemning position towards him; identification with a criminal; acquittal |
| Attitude to protected social values | |
| Respectful (respected) attitude to the protected social values; compassion for objects of criminal assault (protected values) | Negative (neglectful, inhumane, selfish, consumer, hostile, etc.) attitude to law-protected social values |
| Social and legal expectations | |
| The idea that a significant part of the criminals is overtaken by criminal liability is rather difficult to avoid punishment | The idea that a significant part of the criminals escapes responsibility or is easy enough to do, having committed an offense |
| Attitude to law enforcement agencies and their activities | |
| Adequate assessment of the criminal situation in the region; ideas about the presence in the society of proper control over the rule of law; a sense of security from criminal assaults; respect for law enforcement and their activities | Perceptions of the lack of proper control of the rule of law in society; perceptions of a lack of security; assessment of the criminal situation as complex with a high crime rate with an objectively proper level of law and order; inadequate assessment of the activities of law enforcement agencies; expressed unreasonable negative attitude towards law enforcement agencies |
| Attitude towards the performance of civic duty to participate in law enforcement | |
| A positive attitude towards the ability to provide assistance to law enforcement agencies; unconditional attitude to assisting law enforcement | Negative attitude to the ability to provide assistance to law enforcement agencies; consent to participate in law enforcement in case of violation of one’s own rights, protection of personal property or the rights and freedoms of relatives |
Reflected in the table of psychological and pedagogical characteristics of the properties of legal consciousness of a person allow you to design the ideal model of legal consciousness of the personality of a law-abiding member of society and the criminal [5] .
«Идеальная» модель правосознания личности правопослушного члена общества :
- достаточно знает нормы права;
- уважительно относится к закону, убежден в обязательности исполнения требований правовых предписаний;
- имеет конкретные представления о правомерных способах удовлетворения своих потребностей и решения жизненных проблем;
- выражает негативное отношение к преступному образу жизни, осуждает лиц, совершающих правонарушения;
- законопослушное поведение воспринимает как должное, идентифицирует себя с правопослушным гражданином;
- почитает социальные ценности;
- считает, что избежать наказания за нарушение закона достаточно трудно;
- уважительно относится к органам правопорядка, считает необходимым оказывать помощь органам правопорядка.
«Идеальная» модель правосознания личности преступника :
- недостаточно знает правовые запреты;
- к правовым предписаниям относится скептически, отрицательно;
- не знает правомерные способы удовлетворения потребностей и решения жизненных проблем либо отрицательно к ним относится;
- законопослушное поведение, образ жизни считает неприемлемым (невыгодным), противоправное поведение воспринимает как «нормальное»;
- идентифицирует себя с правонарушителем, оправдательно относится к преступнику;
- пренебрежительно относится к правоохраняемым социальным ценностям;
- убежден в том, что значительная часть преступников избегает ответственности;
- не аргументированно отрицательно относится к государственным органам власти;
- считает не возможным оказывать помощь органам правопорядка.
Структура правосознания:
- Первый элемент — информационный. Это наличие в сознании того или иного объема информации о законе.
- Второй элемент — оценочный. Получив информацию о нормативном акте, человек как-то к нему относится, как-то его оценивает, сопоставляет с собственными ценностями.
- Третий — волевой. Узнав о законе и оценив его, человек решает, что он будет делать в условиях, предусмотренных законом. Использовать закон или нет.
Уровни правосознания по глубине отражения правовой деятельности
- Обыденное правосознание — правосознание обывателя, ориентирующегося на свой житейский юридический опыт. В данном случае человек руководствуется простой логикой .
- Теоретическое (научное) правосознание — формируется на базе широких и глубоких правовых обобщений, знаний и закономерностей в социально-правовой сфере.
- Профессиональное правосознание — это правовое сознание юристов-практиков, получивших юридическое образование, которое предполагает обладание систематизированными знаниями, умениями и навыками, необходимыми для успешного выполнения работы в качестве юриста.
Функции правосознания
- Познавательная функция - определенная сумма юридических знаний, являющихся результатом интеллектуальной деятельности.
- Оценочная функция вызывает определенное эмоциональное отношение личности к разным сторонам и явлениям правовой жизни на основе опыта и правовой практики.
- Регулятивная функция правосознания осуществляется посредством правовых установок и ценностно-правовых ориентаций, синтезирующих в себе все иные источники правовой активности.
- Прогностическая функция (моделирования) состоит в формировании определенных моделей (правил) поведения, которые оцениваются правосознанием как должные, социально-необходимые. Она заключается в предвидении того, какие нормы нужно применять и каким образом поступать, чтобы закрепленные в них права и обязанности эффективно регулировали общественные отношения. Нормы права по существу являются продуктом правосознания. Выступая идейным источником права, правосознание и выполняет прогностическую функцию.
Правосознание и право
Между правом и правосознанием существует тесная взаимная связь. Эта связь проявляется как во влиянии правосознания на право, так и наоборот — во влиянии права на правосознание. Прежде всего, это влияние проявляется в процессе формирования права и весьма заметно на его завершающей стадии — стадии правотворчества . Оно заключается в том, что именно правосознание вырабатывает представления о необходимости и потребности принятия определенных нормативно-правовых решений. Определяющее значение имеет уровень правосознания, правовой культуры всех субъектов, участвующих в создании нормативных правовых актов.
Не в меньшей степени правосознание влияет и на соблюдение законов. Как форма общественного сознания оно оказывает корректирующее воздействие на сознание отдельных индивидов и таким образом способствует повышению его уровня, приближению индивидуального правосознания к общественному. Соблюдение требований законодательства находится в прямой зависимости от уровня правосознания всех членов общества, их культурности.
Правосознание играет важную роль и при решении компетентными органами конкретных юридических дел в процессе применения правовых норм. В настоящее время без наличия соответствующей нормы права правосознание не может быть основанием при принятии решений по юридическим делам, и тем более когда речь идет о привлечении к уголовной ответственности, то есть оно не используется в качестве источника права.
В свою очередь происходит воздействие права на правосознание. Оно проявляется в том, что право способствует внедрению в сознание членов общества прогрессивных правовых идей, принципов и представлений о праве. Положенные в основу определенного законодательного акта прогрессивные идеи и представления сначала могут принадлежать отдельным представителям общества, обладающим высоким уровнем правовой осведомленности. Приняв форму закона или иного акта, эти идеи становятся достоянием всего общества, они широко распространяются, воспринимаются и осознаются всеми членами общества.
Право оказывает влияние на формирование правосознания и в процессе его реализации, особенно в форме применения. Деятельность по применению права судов, органов внутренних дел, прокурорских и других органов, основанная на законности , справедливости и гуманности , способствует становлению и развитию у людей положительных правовых чувств, утверждению высокого уровня правосознания. Если же в процессе этой работы допускаются грубые ошибки, произвол, беззаконие, то это вызывает возмущение, подрывает силу права, в саму идею справедливости. Таким образом, правосознание играет важную роль в правотворчестве, совершенствовании и реализации норм права. Право, юридическая практика, в свою очередь, активно воздействуют на формирование правосознания членов общества.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Stukanov, V. G. Theoretical and methodological questions of the study of justice / V. G. Stukanov // Innovative educational technologies. - 2013. - No. 1 (33). - S. 30-34. - Access mode: http://media.miu.by/files/store/items/iot/33/iot_33_2013_6.pdf
- ↑ Pastushenya, A. N. Psychological characteristic of individual and public justice: structurally-substantive aspect [Electronic resource] / A.N. Shepherd's // Psychology and Law. - 2012. - No. 1. - Access mode: http://psyjournals.ru/psyandlaw ; Stukanov, V. G. Information and pedagogical system of the formation of legal identity: monograph / V. G. Stukanov. - Minsk: Acad. MIA Resp. Belarus, 2016 .-- 279 p. - Access mode: http://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=28087013
- ↑ Stukanov, V. G. Information and pedagogical system of the formation of legal identity: monograph / V. G. Stukanov. - Minsk: Acad. MIA Resp. Belarus, 2016 .-- 279 p. - Access mode: http://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=28087013
- ↑ Stukanov V.G. Information and pedagogical system of the formation of legal personality: a monograph . Minsk: Acad. MIA Resp. Belarus, 2016 .-- 279 p.
- ↑ Stukanov, V. G. Legal identity of a person as an object of legal education / V. G. Stukanov // Narodnaya asvet. - 2016. - No. 10. - S. 18-22.
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