Definitions of Concepts in the Acts of the Russian Legislation — Pro et Contra
Abstract
The article presented review the practice of using definitions of concepts in the texts of legal acts. The author analysis of the popular, but unreasonable practice when are drawn up the lists definitions and included in the acts of Russian legislation as special — often very voluminous — inclusions fully dedicated to the definitions used in one legal act (federal law or other regulatory legal act). These inclusions most often time represent a separate article, and lists of concepts can be supplied with explanations that the proposed concepts are defined for the purposes of this act only (but not all acts which regulate a similar subject), or that the lexical meaning proposed in this article of the law concepts should be considered unless otherwise specified in the text of the act. Meanwhile, the absolute requirement for the formation of legislative regulation in the domestic practice of law-making is that concepts introduced into legislation should serve its entire array, regardless of the branch or thematic affiliation of an act. If the definitions refer to one single act only, then the legislation gets archaic attributes. The author notes that in almost all cases the definitions are very unfortunate: concepts are not logically complete; there are no indications of those of the signs of the concept being defined that are of significant importance; definitions are characterized by the coincidence of the word being defined and the defining one. The analysis of the federal acts leads to the conclusion that the definitions have a purpose other than the purpose of normative regulation: it is do not formulate rules of behavior, do not create models of legitimate activities. The author questions the correctness of the construction of the regulatory framework with an arbitrary interpretation of the words features. The inclusion of elements of interpretation in the texts of federal laws is blurring the difference between academic knowledge and practical activities in matters of legislation. If the practice of including arbitrary definitions in the texts of federal laws continues, this will have a negative impact on the law-enforcement situation.
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