Legal technique during legislation codification process in Western Europe in the XVIII - early XIX centuries

The article analyzes key ideas and methods of legal technique in West European legal philosophy and doctrine in XVIII - early XIX centuries. Requirements for statutes and regulations formed by F. Voltaire, C. Volf, R. Descartes, D. Diderot, C. Montesquieu and other representatives of Enlightenment are analyzed in the context of national law codification in Austria, Prussia and France. The requirement of simplicity, clarity and systematic presentation of content of legal acts proclaimed by Catherine`s Decree is based on ideas and principles of European rationalism and natural law.