Kochetkov V.V. Freedom or Justice: Boris Chicherin's and Vladimir Solovyov's discussion on the nature of law and modern constitutionalism

Abstract: The subject of the present article is the debate between Boris Chicherin and Vladimir Solovyov on the essence of law that took place in the second half of the XIX century. While the former was a classical liberal, who linked the essence of law solely with the values of freedom, the latter defended the understanding of law as some minimum of justice. Examining their views, the author shows that the arguments of these scholars are widespread among modern Russian jurists. Unfortunately, modern domestic legal science has not yet found a consensus on this fundamental issue. In the present paper the method of the unity of the historical and logical, together with the historical critical method are used, which allows to update the theoretical heritage of Boris Chicherin and Vladimir Solovyov. The content of the legislation and legal enforcement in the modern state directly depend on how we understand the nature of law. In order to remove the opposition of freedom and justice, the author proposes axiological understanding of constitutionalism as a theoretical form of legal consciousness, linking these values in a creative synthesis. On this basis it is possible to implement the norms and principles of the 1993 Constitution into the fabric of the Russian society.

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