Review: The object of this research is the legal process viewed by the authors as a gradual transition of the national law from one qualitative level onto another that meets the expectations of the majority of population, as well as caters its needs. The subject of this research is the sociocultural nature of legal progress, its organic connection with the various typed of legal consciousness, scientific and ideological doctrines. The main attention is given to reconsideration and clarification of the established within the post-Soviet legal knowledge definitions of legal progress suggested by different scholars. The article formulates the tentative definition of legal progress, its conceptual and sociocultural characteristics; determines the basic principles of its ambiguous and complicated phenomenon; as well as indicated the approaches to its typification. The scientific novelty consists in formulation of an original definition of “legal progress”, reflecting its conceptual aspects and inevitable sociocultural and doctrinal-strategic “reference”. The authors demonstrate that there is not and cannot be a universal discourse of legal progress, because this phenomenon must be understood and assessed exceptionally in the situational-historical and legal-cultural aspect, detecting the compliance of the achieved results in evolution of the branches of law, its institutions and legislation with the established due to multiple factors social expectations, needs and legal values of certain nation or ethnos. Such position of the authors is reinforced by the necessary theoretical, methodological and historical-legal arguments.

Keywords: conservatism, liberalism, legal development, legal system, legal culture, legislation, legal progress, rule of law, ibertarian theory of law, discourse

Review: The subject of this research is the representation of the foreign and national police scientists – C. Wolff, L. von Stein, R. von Mohl, N. N. Belyavsky, I. T. Tarasov, A. I. Elistratov on the state impact on public relations through implementation of the sociocultural and economic functions. Most convincingly, the views of the aforementioned authors are reflected in the context of comparative analysis of their political legal positions on the matter with the views of the public and government leaders – the representatives of liberalism. The scientific novelty consists in the conclusion that the state possess not only the right, but also responsibility to hold an active position in socially oriented solution of the immensely complicated issues faced by society. It is noted that the supporters of the police state doctrine advocate the large-scale systemic intervention of the state into the social life through the establishment of the efficient organizational legal and financial mechanism aimed at state support of the disadvantaged social classes, organization of employment at the time of mass unemployment, planning and forecasting of the financial relations, development of the industrial and other economic sectors.

Keywords: mechanism, theoretical and legal concept, ideology, functions, state, liberalism, scientists-policemen, politics, market relations, power

Review: This article analyzes the practice of formation of the coalition governments in Italy during the First Republic. The dynamics of interparty competition allows determining the key positions in polemics unfolded between the Italian political scientists regarding the emergence of one or another type of party system in Italy. The goal of this research lies in the identification of causes that led to the victory of the Christian Democratic Party of Italy throughout several electoral cycles until the phase transformation in the Italian political party system, followed by the crisis of partocratic regime. The article also analyzes the role of the minor political parties in the political process, which provided support to the Cristian Democrats. The presented data from sociological studies allows detecting the changes in public mood, associated implementation of the political course by the ruling parties of Italy. The author was able to identify the causes of decrease in public confidence in the Italian political parties of the First Republic period. Over time, the political powers become incapable of adequately responding to the political and socioeconomic challenges on the background of dilution of the ideological beliefs of parties caught in corruption, integration of new collective (trade unions, associations and public organizations) into the political process, as well as discussion of the issues of bioethics and proliferation of neo-conservative trends.

Keywords: First Republic, coalitions, small parties, PCI, DC, Italy, party system, reforms, trade unions, ideology

Review: The subject of this research is the theoretical analysis of a set of interrelated scientific and practical issues of the criminal law aspect of reproductive right, its place, features and concept, including the artificia termination of pregnancy. This article is dedicated to examination of the problems of criminal law protection of reproductive right of a woman. The authors considers the relevant theoretical and practical issues associated with codification of reproductive right of a woman in the criminal legislation of the Russian Federation. The research is focused on criminal law protection, as well as regulation of the unlawful exercise of such right. The author analyzes the existing norm of the unlawful artificial termination of pregnancy as a method of exercising woman’s tight to reproduction. The scientific novelty is lies in providing a comprehensive examination of the criminal law protection of reproductive right, its content and structural components for the first time. The author presents an original perspective on regulation of the criminal law responsibility for unlawful termination of pregnancy as one of the methods of exercising of such right, considering the requirements of the norms of international law and universal human values. Revision of the Article 123 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is suggested.

Keywords: protection of reproductive rights, method of realization of rights, international law, object of criminal law protection, reproductive right, abort, illegal abotr, criminal law, foreign experience, object of crime

Review: The subject of this research is the scientific sources characterizing the system of traffic security. The object of this research is the legal relations, occurrences and processes that form in state provision of traffic safety. Having analyzes the scientific literature the author expounds a brief content of elements that characterize the concept of state administration of the traffic security through examining administrative relations between the subjects of the system of traffic safety and objects of administrative influence, as well as mutual connections between them. The author turns attention to the fact that despite the systematic use of the term of the system of traffic safety in scientific literature, this category is not defined by a legislator, and the existing scientific positions are either contradictory reflect the characteristic of the explored public relations from the perspective of the separate branches of law. The scientific novelty is expressed in the suggested classification of the system of traffic safety that consists of a number of subsystems formed by functionality attribute, analysis and determination of the functions inherent to the examined system. A conclusion is made that the system of traffic security suggest not only a simple objective existence of the government authorities, self-governance, and civil society institutions (in broader meaning, the legislative and judicial branches), which are the subjects of the administrative impact on public relations in the area of traffic, but rather their stable, organized, mutually conditioned activity, which is based on strategic administration and aimed at implementation of achieving the goals of traffic safety that in general sense are reduced to prevention of the causes of traffic accidents and mitigation of their consequences by means of the unified state policy.

Keywords: subjects of administration, state administration, system functions, system attributes, traffic safety, system of traffic safety, objects of administration, legal relations , traffic, provision of safety

Review: This article examines the Japan’s strategy on allocation of the proprietary investments overseas, as well as attraction of foreign investments to the country. In this context, special attention is given to the particular aspects of the Russia-Japan investment cooperation in form of investments, as well as the objects of production and infrastructure, including the cooperation in energy sphere (oil, gas, and generated in the Russian Federation electrical energy). The author touches upon the position of parties regarding the question of joint economic use of the South Kuril Islands. The scientific novelty lies in consideration from the perspective of Russia’s interests and opportunities of the approaches towards investment “from” and “to” Japan. A conclusion is made that both, Russia and Japan have a potential for cooperation, opportunities and interest; however, it remains to be seen which of the indicated scenarios will prevail.

Keywords: oil supplies, energy, trade by production, infrastructure facilities, Japan, Russia, investments, Russian-generated electricity, Advanced Development Territories (ADTs), Southern Kuriles

Review: This article describes the relevant issues of providing the qualified legal aid to citizens, particularly in the context of the newly adopted legislation in Kyrgyz Republic. The authors conduct a comparative legal  analysis between the provisions of the Law of Kyrgyz Republic “On State-Guaranteed Legal Aid” (of July 1, 2009) and the new Law of Kyrgyz Republic “On State-Guaranteed Legal Aid” of December 16, 2016, as well as explore the problematic aspects regarding the implementation of regulation of the Criminal Procedure Code of Kyrgyz Republic in terms of providing the qualified legal aid. The article also considers the main prerequisites that constitute the grounds for the adoption of the new Law of Kyrgyz Republic “On State-Guaranteed Legal Aid” of December 16, 2016; demonstrates the key differences between the old and the new law concerning the mechanism of providing the free-of-charge legal aid to ensure equal access for the citizens of Kyrgyzstan; as well as substantiates the enshrinement in the new (2017) Criminal Procedure Code of Kyrgyz Republic of the principle “provision of right to qualified legal aid”, with integration of norms that will become the legal ground for the activity of the defense lawyer, as well as the lawful representative. Thus, this article allows complementing the provisions of legislation regarding the measures on improving justice in Kyrgyz Republic and consider them in formulation of the provisions of criminal procedure legislation of Kyrgyzstan and the Law of Kyrgyz Republic “On State-Guaranteed Legal Aid” by the authors of other countries.

Keywords: state legal assistance, legislation, justice, defender, lawyer, qualified legal assistance, guarantees, rights, freedom, personality