Rechtsstaat and Rule of Law: Evolution of Two Doctrines in Context of Developing a New Historiographical Model of Political and Legal Knowledge

The article examines two theoretical issues related to the doctrines of Rechtsstaat and rule of law. The first issue concerns the relationship between these concepts. The author of the article argues that the differences between them are often exaggerated and are not significant from a normative perspective. The second issue addresses the contribution of Russian pre-revolutionary jurisprudence to the development of the Rechtsstaat doctrine. The article analyzes the main ideas of Russian legal scholars and evaluates them in the light of the current state of legal philosophy and theory. It is emphasized that the idea of Rechtsstaat has taken a unique form in Russia, with many theories remaining relevant and progressive even today. Thus, Russian thinkers’ understanding of the rule of law as a relative concept, subordinate to a higher moral ideal, allows for the following: 1) distinguishing the ideal of Rechtsstaat from other ideals by giving it a specific (formal) meaning, 2) recognizing the potential for social regulation not only through law and other normative regulators, but also by totally different means, and 3) providing theoretical justification for the violation of law in certain cases, without resorting to vague concept of “lawlessness”. With a broader (substantive) understanding of Rechtsstaat, Russian legal scholars’ interpretation of human rights as a means of personal development, rather than as a tool for isolating individuals from society and indulging any of their desires, is of interest. The theoretical basis of the study is formed by both domestic and foreign research on the rule of law and Rechtsstaat. The primary method is generalization, which allows demonstrating the general direction of the evolution of the doctrines under consideration and identifying similar ideas among different authors. The relevance of the research stems from the need to protect the history of legal thought from various ideological distortions. In addition, the study of the Russian tradition of philosophical and legal thought ensures cultural continuity, which is important for the development of a consolidating national identity. 

Keywords: Rechtsstaat, rule of law, legal ideal, natural law, welfare state, human rights, right to a decent life, national identity, Orthodoxy