Traditions and innovations in Ukrainian jurisprudence: Ancient Greek roots

Abstract

Ukraine’s course toward European integration requires harmonisation of Ukrainian legislation with European law, which has its origins in the cultural and traditional foundations of the ancient era. Therefore, the research on the influence of the ancient Greek philosophy of law on the development of Ukrainian jurisprudence becomes relevant, and in the course of this, the problem of the clash of traditions of different legal families and areas of development of legal innovations arises. The purpose of this study – to identify the factor of the dialectic of traditions and innovations in Ukrainian jurisprudence as one of the driving factors of its development. The author uses the methods of axiological analysis, comparative legal method and the method of analogy to substantiate the results obtained and develop conclusions. As a result of the research, it was established that no matter how modified the forms of key legal values, doctrines and institutions are, they are always based on the fundamental ideas based on the intellectual traditions and philosophical and legal ideas of the thinkers of Ancient Greece. It is evidenced by the universalist approach they initiated, on which all European science (including legal science) is based, and modern anthropological concepts of law understanding in general and the justification of fundamental human rights, in particular, are based on principles genetically rooted in the teachings of Protagoras, Socrates and Aristotle. Therewith, it was established that the latest achievements in the organisation of democratic governance are focused on the implementation of the ancient Greek idea of democracy. The author demonstrates that in the dialectical process of development of any legal system, there is always an interaction of some established (traditional) components and various new developments conditioned upon the specifics of such development at each stage, and concludes that the time-influenced changeability of legal values, doctrines and institutions goes back to the intellectual tradition and philosophical and legal ideas of the thinkers of the Ancient period. The practical significance of this research is that the materials of the study can be used: in lawmaking – for the preparation and substantiation of draft laws on the further development of the legal system of Ukraine; in the educational process and research work – in teaching relevant disciplines.