Erosion of the concept of “legal construction" in the Russian legal theory

The term "legal construction" is widespread in the Russian legal science. However, the concept denoted by this term today is characterized by a high degree of uncertainty. One of the main approaches to understanding legal constructions is the teaching by Professor A. F. Cherdantsev. He believed that legal constructions are a type of ideal models. However, this point of view has been blurred by the following erroneous trends of the legal thought. Firstly, Professor S. S. Alekseev introduced the substantialist approach. Its essence is that legal constructions relate not only to the sphere of conceptualization of legal material, but also to the reality of law. Secondly, a number of scientists double the essences and talk about the model of legal construction or the legal construction of a particular model. Thirdly, today many scientists use the term "legal construction" to mean, in fact, any legal concepts and phenomena. We believe that legal construction is the highest and logically most complex method of formal dogmatic research of law, representing an abstract ideal model. This model reflects, constitutes or interprets the relationship of legal phenomena and/or their elements or determines the place of these phenomena in the legal system.