THE SYSTEMIC ROLE OF THE LEGAL CULTURE OF AN INDIVIDUAL IN THE STRUCTURE OF MODERN CIVIL SOCIETY

Abstract

The article deals with the theoretical aspects of the legal culture of an individual and highlights its systemic role in the structure of modern civil society. It is determined that the main areas of influence of the legal culture of the individual are the formation of the value and normative basis, ensuring the legal progress of society, and assertion of human and civil rights and freedoms. Thus, by learning the universally recognised legal values which form the basis of legal culture, a person gains knowledge of the options for permissible or necessary lawful behaviour in society, which creates the basis for the formation of an active civic position, motivation for self-improvement, and self-development. This also creates an opportunity to correlate the needs of the individual, society, and the state, to identify appropriate priorities, and to initiate and participate in measures to improve the mechanism for ensuring a legitimate private or public interest. It is stated that the system-forming role of legal culture in the legal state can be explained by the words “cause and effect”. The latter should include the qualitative state of ensuring constitutional human rights, law and order, good governance, implementation of the rule of law, and other universally recognised fundamental legal values of modern society. It is substantiated that a high legal culture of an individual is the basis of civil society since it creates conditions for the development of democracy, civic engagement, social solidarity, and the rule of law. This helps to ensure the sustainability, stability, and development of society as a whole. Therefore, it is correct to believe that the legal culture of an individual plays a key role in the structure of civil society, as it determines the “maturity” of such a society and is at the same time a determinant of the legal activity of civil society actors representing the will, rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of an individual, social group, etc. The understanding of the legal culture of a person as a factor in the formation and development of civil society has been further developed. After all, the legal culture of an individual, based on ideological and legal pluralism, national and world cultural and legal achievements, forms the basis for changing outdated legal dogmas and stereotypes, reorienting consciousness to new legal values, which generally contributes to the legal development of an individual, the positive nature of their legal activity, an adequate assessment of legal reality, social stability, and the achievement of legal progress of society. The author reveals the systemic role of a person’s legal culture in the structure of civil society, which is suggested to be defined through its mechanism, including legal knowledge, emotions, ideas, feelings, and motives which, in the aggregate, encourage a person to perform lawful actions leading to a legal result – ensuring the rights and freedoms of a person and a citizen, their legitimate interests, and the quality of governance and law and order in society.