The theory of state and law by Nikolay Korkunov

Andrey Polyakov

pp. 67-78

in: Bartosz Broek, Julia Stanek, Jerzy Stelmach (eds), Russian legal realism, Berlin, Springer, 2018

Abstract

This chapter analyses the theory of state and law proposed by N. Korkunov, the Russian legal scholar. The theory is discussed in the context of the ideas developed by the St. Petersburg school of legal philosophy, which was heavily influenced by Korkunov's works. Korkunov created a realistic conception of law, based on a synthesis of positivism, sociology and psychology. Thus, Korkunov not only saw the normative (regulatory) dimension of law, but also its social dimension, manifested in legal relationships, as well as its psychological dimension, which provides what we would call the axiological legitimisation of law. In fact, this thinker anticipated the subsequent attempts at an integrated understanding of law that could reconcile various theoretically valid approaches and underlie a "universal definition of law covering all the legal phenomena".