Evaluative categories in the theory and practice of substantive and procedural law

Introduction: the paper is devoted to the study of problems associated with the use of “evaluative categories” in modern legal science and practice, as well as in law-making and law enforcement. The concept, essence, content of “evaluative categories”, and their classification by various grounds are consistently revealed. The features of the use of “evaluative categories” in modern practice and the theory of substantive and procedural law are considered. The purpose of the research is to introduce in the scientific community the understanding of what should be understood by “evaluative categories”, as well as to identify their importance in the theory and practice of substantive and procedural law. Methods: the methodological framework for the study is the universal dialectical method of scientific cognition, the principles of cognition of social phenomena based on the laws of dialectics, the logical methods of scientific cognition (analysis, synthesis, deduction, induction, abstraction), the special-legal methods (comparative, formal-legal), generalization, classification. Results: in the paper the approaches to the understanding of evaluative categories are identified, the essence is determined, and the variants of classification of evaluative categories in separate groups are proposed. Conclusions: it should be noted that evaluative categories have the properties of abstraction and act as a form of uncertainty in law; there is a need for their more consistent and accurate regulation.