Codification of legislation in the transitional period: pro et contra

Abstract

The article considers the question of the expediency of legal codification in the transitional periods of the development of society. The debatable nature of this issue in the legal doctrine is shown - from the complete denial of the possibility of creating a high-quality and effective codified act in an unstable era, to the admission of their development under certain conditions and recognition of the transition period as the most favorable for the purposes of codification. There is a lack of unified approaches to understanding the essence of the transition period, clear criteria for distinguishing it from related concepts and other periods of social development identified by scientists («stabilization», «the beginning of a new order of relations», etc.). The article draws attention to the fact that the need of society for legal certainty, in an orderly and appropriate to specific historical conditions legislation exists regardless of the era experienced by society, and the transition period in this case cannot be considered an exception. When deciding on codification, it is important to take into account not only the state of society, but other factors (the quality of the current code, the availability of material for a new codification, the level of development of legal doctrine in the country, the existing experience of codification, legal regulation and law enforcement in a particular area, etc.). It is important to develop the conceptual aspects of codification and its strategic directions taking into account the transitional state of society. Legal science has a key role to play in solving these issues.