Abstract: The object of this research is the legal relations established between the civil society and the government in various spheres of social life. The subject is of the historical types of cooperation between the civil society and the government. Based on the analysis of scientific data about the regularities of cooperation between the civil society and the government in the XIX – beginning of XXI centuries, the author determined and examines two historical types of such cooperation: “social contract” and “social dependence”. At the same time, the author focuses attention on the flaws of the reviewed types and their inapplicability on the modern stage of development of the public relations. Scientific novelty consists in typification of collaboration between the civil society and the government in the XIX – the beginning of XXI centuries, as well as in substantiation of the conclusion about the current inapplicability of such historical types as “social contract” and “social dependency”. The main conclusion consists in the fact that in the foundation of such cooperation on the main state of development of the public relations lies the idea of dialogue communication, which allows expecting the mutual understanding and satisfaction of interests of both, the civil society, and the government.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the problem of correlation between the society and government within the history of political legal thought. The author thoroughly examines the outlooks of the thinkers of Classical Antiquity, Medieval Times, Renaissance Era, and New Times upon the place of society and state within the public-political system, as well as the correlation between them. A special attention is given to the search of systemic connections between these points of view. At the same time, the author underlines the current relevance of the researched problem and determines its fundamental positions, which characterize the correspondence of the modern society with the constitutional state. Among the main conclusions are the following positions: 1) with the emergence of state, begins the civilizational stage of development of the society, therefore we should talk about the correlation between society and government since the establishment of the first states; 2) civic society represents the foundation of the constitutional state; the unity of civic society and constitutional state is a “social whole”, in the foundation of which lie their common goals; despite the solidarity in goals, contradictions and conflicts are inevitable in both cases, inside the civic society, and between civic society and constitutional state; 3) civic society and constitutional state are so-called constraint factors for each other; the developed civic society established as a result of the natural development (and not artificially created by the government) that is able to organize public relations and provide their effective realization, by its nature has to carry more importance for the society as a whole, rather than government.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the scientific perceptions on state functions. The article follows the evolution of these perceptions from philosophical ideas on essence, tasks and goals of state to the theory of state functions to the concept of “state function” devised in the Soviet juridical science. The author gives a detailed review to modern perceptions of scientists on functions of statehood, and substantiates a close link between the notion of “state function” and concepts of “essence of state”, “state goals”, “state tasks”, and “state designation”. A special attention is given to the substantiation of the need to conduct systemic research on state functions. The scientific novelty of this research consists in advancement of a hypothesis on the evolution of these perceptions from philosophical ideas on essence, tasks and goals of state to the theory of state functions to the concept of “state function” devised in the Soviet juridical science.