Balance between right and law in the light of the problem of the rule-of-law state

In this paper, the author investigates different approaches to the understanding of law in modern Russian jurisprudence. The ontological and axiological content of law is revealed. The author investigates the understanding of the rule-of-law state idea by the natural law school and the positivist law school. Analyzing the debate on this issue, the author concludes that in modern Russian jurisprudence the positivist approach continues to be the dominant approach to understand the law. According to the author within positivism framework, it is impossible to find the parameters of rightful law and solve the problem of the balance between right and law. In order to solve this problem the author identifies and analyzes the main conditions for the appearance of the rule-of-law state. The author, emphasizing the statement that only a state based on democratic principles can develop as a rule-of-law one, first connects this development with the notion of freedom, which in her opinion is one of the leading principles of legal consciousness. The author concludes that in contemporary society the question of lawful or unlawful nature of legislation plays a major role in social relations regulation.