Constitutional criterion of the content of law

The fundamental problem of legal science is to establish a defining feature of law that allows it to be distinguished from other phenomena, that is, the criterion of law. The provision enshrined in Article 18 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation prescribes the use of compliance with the rights and freedoms of man and citizen as such a criterion: they determine the essence, meaning and implementation of laws, and the activities of the legislative and executive authorities, local self-government. This article is devoted to a comprehensive study of this legal prescription. Based on the analysis of constitutional projects, the history of its appearance in the text of the current Constitution is traced. The semantic content of the provision is analyzed, the ability to serve as the basis for assessing the content of normative and individual legal acts is established. It is noted that law-making activities and law application should create conditions and promote the realization of human and civil rights and freedoms in public relations, subject to normative or individual legal regulation. The value-ideological basis of the constitutional provision under study is described. The legal nature of the prescription enshrined in Article 18 is identified - a norm-declaration, as a type of specialized legal norms, as well as its place and role in the system of constitutional provisions. The content-semantic unity and systemic connection with Article 2 of the Constitution, which is an integral part of the foundations of the constitutional system of the Russian Federation, is revealed. It is argued that, by its formal legal properties, the analyzed regulation is an imperative of the highest legal force and is protected from cancellation or amendment by the complex procedure for revising the Constitution. But the fulfillment of this declarative norm’s regulatory function is possible only through the effective operation of the mechanism for implementing constitutional provisions on the legal nature of the Russian state. The application of the provisions enshrined in Article 18 of the Constitution in judicial practice is stated. The compatibility of the criterion of compliance with the rights and freedoms of man and citizen with various types of legal understanding is substantiated. Some reasons for criticizing its shortcomings are also indicated. The conclusion is drawn about the significance of this criterion for legal science and practice.