The article is devoted to the methodological approaches underlying recognition of law as a multidimensional phenomenon rather than to the problems of legal understanding. Methodological grounds of the multidimensional nature of law include the nature of the concept itself that is inseparable from the theory of systems, the general theory of normativity, subjective, objective and intersubjective nature of law, the theory of indifferent methodological series, as well as the needs of legal practice. The list of grounds for recognition of superiority of the multidimensional approach to understanding of law is not limited to the above mentioned methodological approaches. The multidimensional approach to the understanding of law is takes the form of various legal concepts constituting an integral organic system interacting with legal practice, making a systemic impact on it with the purpose to transform it and to meet  moral and material needs of the society, state and individual. The multidimensional approach to understanding law does not represent a fragmented legal concept. This approach appears as an integral organically interconnected system of concepts that are not in a state of confrontation with each other, but, on the contrary, use the entire accumulated arsenal of legal patterns to transform law-making and law-enforcement processes.

The most generalized experience of conceptual expression of law can be represented as monistic, pluralistic and multiaspectual approaches to the understanding of law. An integral or integrative concept of legal understanding is derived from the multiaspectual approach, because, in order to carry out the integration operation, it is necessary to determine some elements of the multiplicity.

An individual appearance (image) in a broad sense includes appearance, figure, physical abilities, clothing, that is, the totality of such information about a person that can be obtained without resorting to specific examinations. The positive content of the subjective right to individual appearance consists of the authority to independently determine and use an individual appearance, to dispose an image. Legal statuses of the student and the teacher make authority and limits of implementation and ways to protect the right to an individual appearance more specific.

Assessing the legitimacy of setting appearance requirements, the author draws attention to the requirements for clothing and other elements of appearance and the requirements applied to the procedure of decision-making. The Federal Law on Education does not provide for restricting such elements of students’ appearance as hair, makeup, tattoos, piercing, jewelry. Therefore, such restrictions concerning the right to individual appearance established by educational organizations are allowed only if they have been passed in compliance with the rules of adoption of local acts of educational organizations.

The article provides a solution to the situation when the draft act of the educational organization concerning students’ appearance is not equally evaluated by the сouncil of students, сouncil of parents, a representative body of employees of this organization and (or) students.

Under the Model Code of Professional Ethics of Teachers, general requirements for the appearance of the teacher are advisory in nature. Therefore, if the employee violates moral norms, then moral rather than legal sanctions should be applied. The question arises whether it is possible to evaluate certain appearance of the teacher as an immoral offense also when the teacher is out of work. The article substantiates that it is necessary to establish different legal consequences of immoral offenses committed by the teacher out of work taking into account the form of fault. If the teacher commits an immoral offense out of work and informs an indefinite number of people about it, then we deal with a conscious promotion of his or her conduct, his own assessment of his or her conduct as permissible, while the society (a part of the society) evaluates such behavior as immoral. In the above cases, it is justified to apply measures provided for under labor legislation. If the teacher commits an immoral act out of work and this becomes known accidentally while the teacher is unaware of the fact of disclosure and sometimes when the disclosure takes place against his will, the application of measures of labor legislation regulating dismissal is questionable. In this regard, it is proposed to amend the provisions of the Labor Code concerning consequences of immoral misconduct of the teacher. 

The present study elucidates approaches developed in the juridical science and defining legal practice as a socially significant legal activity of the participants. The authors propose their own social-philosophical and legal justification of legal (administrative) practice as a means of transforming reality. To this end, legal practice is acting as a necessary social, organizational and legal means of improving human activity in the implementation of state and municipal administration. The authors propose a social and philosophical understanding of administrative (state-administrative) practice as the result of state-administrative activities arising in the development of administrative relations and entailing the achievement of socially useful goals of state (municipal) administration in the form of an administrative legal act or repeated organizational act of the body and (or) public administration official (usages of administrative practices). In the course of the research the authors give their own understanding of forms of objectification of administrative practice when state and municipal administration is being carried out. Such forms include empirical non-normative legal act and the usage of administrative practice. The result of the study of the nature and forms of objectification of administrative practice involves the definition of its importance for law enforcement practice, which is mandatory practice for the participants of State and municipal administration when they implement internal State and municipal administration. A mandatory nature of empirical administrative legal acts for administered entities within the framework of external state and municipal administration is mediated insofar as they become participants of administrative legal relations within the framework of which the provisions of these acts are implemented. In other cases, these acts are not mandatory for the administered entities. In addition, an administered entity is not deprived of the right to act in compliance with the provisions of the law or a bylaw rather than in compliance with the provisions of a nonnormative administrative legal act that formally is not a normative legal act, but in fact it of regulatory nature. The study defines the meaning of the usages of administrative activities as one of the forms of objectification of administrative practices.

International agreements and treaties in the field of environmental protection concluded in the 19th — first half of the 20th century, were, as a rule, the result of forced compromises, they were intended to solve urgent problems that had appeared or, at least, drew attention to limited areas (for example, the threat to a certain species, pollution of a marine area). In such cases, a convention was adopted to protect an endangered species or to limit emissions into the sea. As a result of this fragmented approach to environmental protection, an impressive but very heterogeneous system of conventions has emerged. Understanding of the unity of ecosystems implemented in the development of principles enshrined in the Stockholm Declaration of 1972 and the Rio Declaration of 1992 took place largely due to the rapid progress of science and technology. As a result, there has been a transition from “spontaneous” formation of international environmental standards to their consolidation around special principles of international environmental law. Also, a notable feature of many international treaties in the field of environmental protection — their “framework” character — is further analyzed. The adoption of framework agreements leads to the formation of complex sets of conventional documents consisting of several different, but in a certain way related to each other agreements. Considering the question of the effectiveness of such a legal instrument as a framework agreement, the author concludes that the origins of the problem of insufficient effectiveness of agreements in the field of environmental protection lie in the foundations of the existing economic system.

On 26th of June, 2018, at its 51th session, the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) announced the completion of two important documents — a draft United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, as well as the draft amendments to the UNCITRAL Model L aw on International Commercial Conciliation (2002) that, to a large extent, repeats the provisions of the draft Convention. It is expected that after its approval by the UN General Assembly on August 1, 2019, the Convention will be open for signature and, if ratified by a significant number of States, will play an important role in increasing the attractiveness of this method of dispute settlement to the international business community, allowing it to compete with international commercial arbitration.

In this regard, the article attempts to analyze the main provisions of this Convention and to assess the feasibility of accession to it of the Russian Federation, taking into account the fact that currently in Russia this method of settlement of cross-border commercial disputes is not widespread. According to the results of the analysis, the author comes to the conclusion that the adoption of this Convention will create a basis for the enforcement of international agreements reached as a result of mediation and acceptable for States with different legal, social and economic conditions, while maintaining the inherent flexibility of this method of dispute resolution. This, in turn, will reduce the likelihood of parties to cross-border commercial disputes going to court or international commercial arbitration after mediation and, accordingly, will increase the attractiveness of this method of dispute resolution for the parties. 

The article is devoted to the problem of formation of modern international legal regime of joint use and protection of international watercourses that is aimed at effective provision of water to the States of international watercourse with due respect to new challenges and threats that have a negative impact on international water resources. The model is based on the concept of “international watercourse” that has the following features: 1) international watercourses include surface and ground waters; 2) a spatial and territorial criterion of an international watercourse that means crossing of the border between two or more States or being on their border; 3) the use of international watercourses affects the interests of two or more States; 4) the special international legal regime for the use of international watercourses that has developed within the framework of international law development; 5) special requirements for the protection of ecosystems of international watercourses that include protection from pollution and other forms of degradation of lands and forests adjacent to international watercourses, their fauna and flora; as well as seas into which watercourses flow; 6) a high conflict potential in the use of water resources of international watercourses. The analysis of the provisions of the doctrines of joint use and protection of transboundary waters shows that the formation of international water law should timely take into account human factors, technological and socio-economic changes. The modern international law model of the joint use and protection of international watercourses is a system of international legal norms regulating inter-state relations in the following areas: prevention, limitation and reduction of transboundary impact; protection of ecosystems of international watercourses; rational use of waters of international watercourses, effective management of water resources of international watercourses (including establishment and functioning of international basin organizations); information support of the population with regard to international watercourses.

The paper notes that the integration of modern information technologies in all spheres of human activity has led to the informatization and computerization of crime, when it is possible to commit almost any crime by means of computer tools and systems. There is a commonality of some elements of the mechanism of computer crimes, including information about the methods of these crimes.

Means of committing computer crimes are considered from the standpoint of a new private theory of information and computer support of forensic activities, the subject of which are the laws of occurrence, movement, collection and study of computer information in the investigation of crimes. The objects are computer tools and systems, especially forensic technologies of collection (detection, fixation, seizure) and research of these objects to obtain evidence and guidance information. From the modern point of view, the method of crime is determined by personality, subject and circumstances of the criminal attack, the system of actions of the subject, aimed at achieving the criminal goal and united by a single criminal plan. The means of a crime commitment are divided into fully structured, including preparation, commission and concealment, and incomplete, when one or two elements are absent. The formation of the means of a crime is influenced by objective and subjective factors, which determines the determinism and repeatability of the means of the crime.

The main means of computer crimes are considered: aimed at hiding unauthorized access to computer tools and systems; the use of Trojans for various purposes; infection of computer systems with viruses; the use of hardware and software systems for mass campaigns of malicious software distribution to mobile devices; computer attacks on local corporate networks, etc.

It is established that the criminalistic regularity of the formation and implementation of computer crimes is a mandatory stage of preparation for the crime, which at the same time includes actions to conceal the traces of the crime, i.e. the methods of computer crimes are fully structured

The paper analyzes the current state and prospects of development of the mechanism of compensation of harm in criminal proceedings. It is noted that with a steady trend of growing discontent of the majority of victims with the state’s activities to restore their rights violated because of the crime, the courts properly resolve civil claims in criminal cases. The reasons why article 52 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation remains declarative are revealed. The conclusion about the inadmissibility of expanding the subject and grounds of civil claims in criminal proceedings is substantiated. It is indicated that the foreign practice of compensation for harm to victims, including through the formation of compensation funds, the use of mediation procedures, funds of non-governmental organizations, faces many problems that remain unresolved. In this regard, it is proposed to use only the institutions of restitution and voluntary compensation of harm in the criminal process, actively using the possibilities of pre-trial stages, as well as to consider claims that clearly arise from the substance of the criminal law dispute and (or) recognized by civil defendants. The remaining civil law issues directly or indirectly related to the committed or impending crime should be resolved in civil proceedings, where the burden of proof of the asserted claims is placed on the person recognized as the victim in the criminal case, his heir or representative. An important role is given to the improvement of the system of execution of court decisions, including through the development of programs based on the achievements of modern digital technologies.

The paper examines the legal aspects of the use of cloud solutions by Russian banks of foreign providers. Despite the obvious advantages, there are many obstacles to such a use in the Russian legislation, including the lack of general regulation of cloud computing services, requirements for information security (licensing of encryption activities, certification of information systems), requirements of legislation on the localization of personal data databases, electronic databases of banks, etc. Based on the analysis of existing regulations, in particular the industry regulators, the author comes to the conclusion that foreign cloud service providers have the right to provide services to Russian financial institutions under certain conditions: cloud solutions should not include outsourcing of business functions entirely and should not involve the production of internal (domestic) money transfers (payments); foreign cloud provider has taken measures to protect the protected information; cross-border transfer of personal data and bank secrecy should be carried out in an impersonal form, etc.

In modern Germany, a secular state with a republican form of government, there is still the institution of pardon, known in the pre-Christian era. Under the current Constitution of Germany pardon is carried out by the President of Germany, the decision is not subject to judicial review. The relationship of mercy and justice has been controversial for centuries. Opinions differ in literature and court practice, up to the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany. A retrospective of the historical development of the practice of pardon, the analysis of the goals and consequences of this measure convincingly prove the need for the possibility of judicial review of clemency decisions enshrined in the legislation. This is the only effective way to prevent arbitrariness, abuse of power and violation of human rights. The modern legal state should not allow the negative experience of past dictatorships and monarchies.

The study of the institution of marriage in the foreign legal order makes it possible not only to see the identity and historical succession, but also to find out whether the provisions on marriage have common features that characterize it as the highest value, and how permissible foreign borrowing in the formation of its own legal system without prejudice to its uniqueness and individuality. The use of foreign experience reveals a lot of issues and conflicts that need to be resolved in relation to national law. An obligatory component is the study of the heritage of the past, the so-called legislative retrospective, which contributes to the knowledge of legal culture. For the first time in domestic science there is an attempt to periodize the institution of marriage in Spain, depending on the type of social regulator: customs, canonical rules, rules of law (own and borrowed). The periodization of the Spanish marriage law is presented and the main features of its formation are shown: the application of the customs of the peoples inhabiting the territory of Spain; the reception of Roman private law; the influence of Canon law; the appearance of foreign influence. The whole history of marriage law is divided into 5 periods: customary law (the first period), the rule of canon law (second period), systematic legislation on marriage (the third period), harmonization of secular marriage legislation with the provisions of canon law (the fourth period), contemporary law (fifth period). Separately, in the settlement of relations between the sexes, a pre-legal period is allocated. Of course, each period is characterized by a variety of rules of marriage law, which is explained by the evolution of social relations and the development of the legal institution of marriage. The consistent influence of universal values on the formation of legal provisions of marriage is shown. As the marriage law is formed, rules are formed that determine the conditions and order of its conclusion. The enduring value of the family organization of the way of life of people and the family form of management determines the preservation of this social institution throughout the period of human history, although in a constantly changing form.

The author investigates the history of development of criminal legislation on liability for offenses related to violation of traffic safety rules or operation of transport, from 1917 to 2014. The paper analyzes the decrees and resolutions of the Soviet period in the field of traffic safety, articles of the Criminal code of the RSFSR as amended in 1922 and 1926, acting on the territory of modern Kazakhstan until January 1, 1960, the norms of the Criminal Code of the Kazakh SSR in 1959, the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan as amended in 1997 and 2014 on transport crimes. The analyzed period is characterized by the appearance of a special Chapter of the special part of the Criminal Code, a steady increase in the number of articles on liability for transport offenses, the specification of articles of a general nature by the allocation of special rules, tougher responsibility for violations of safety rules, which caused serious consequences, the transfer of certain transport administrative offenses to the criminal law, etc. This trend is explained by the rapid growth of the country’s transport fleet, the increase in speed, intensity of traffic, the need to protect society from accidents and catastrophes and bringing the criminal law in line with the needs of practice.

In the first post-war decades in Germany the problem of crimes of the Nazi regime was hushed up. Information about the flagrant crimes of the Nazis in the concentration camps was perceived by the Germans as “propaganda of the winners”. The Frankfurt process of 1963-1965 was an event that contributed to the understanding of the criminal past of its country by the German society. Before the court in Frankfurt there appeared 22 Nazi war criminals who were accused of murder and complicity in the killing of prisoners of concentration camps and death camps of Auschwitz. During the trial, horrific facts of mass destruction of people and unprecedented cases of humiliation of human dignity were revealed. The position of the prosecution was that the defendants voluntarily served in Auschwitz, realizing that the main purpose of the operation of the camp is the mass destruction of Jews, purposefully participating in the implementation of a common criminal plan. The defense adhered to the strategy that the defendants were only weak-willed executors of the orders of the highest Nazi leadership and were forced to commit crimes at the risk of their own lives. None of the accused pleaded guilty, and in their closing speeches they expressed neither regret nor remorse to the victims and their relatives. The verdict of the jury was soft: only 6 accused were sentenced to life imprisonment, the rest received various (from 3 to 14 years) terms of imprisonment, three were acquitted. However, the significance of the Frankfurt trial exceeds the purpose of the criminal punishment of the Nazi criminals. The process became a milestone in the course of overcoming by the Germans of their recent past, the awareness of the responsibility of German society for the crimes of national socialism.

The paper deals with the formation and development of right-socialist legal thought during the revolutionary period of 1917 and the Civil war of 1918. During the analysis, special attention is given to the legal views and ideas of the largest theorists of the right-socialist school, such as G.V. Plekhanov, V.M. Chernov, P.B. Akselrod, M.V. Vishnyak. The paper is divided into four interrelated parts. The first part reveals the fact of the lack prosocial groups of projects of legal development of the Russian state to establish a social democratic regime that caused their appeal to the legal concepts of the cadets. Also the reasons of registration by right-socialist groups of the concept of “the third way” and its realization in anti-Bolshevist statehood of the period of 1918 are revealed. In the second part of the work the understanding of the essence of law in socialism is studied, the comparison of the ideological approach to “law” on the part of the lawyers of the left-socialist and right-socialist camp is made. Special attention is given to the place of law in the teachings of socialism and the relationship of law with the economy. In the third part of the work the image of A.I. Gukovskiy as a jurist of the right socialist camp is investigated. His characteristic given to him by the right Socialists Revolutionarists (SRs) is generalized. The image of A.I. Gukovskiy reveals common features inherent in all legal scholars of the right socialist camp. The fourth part of the paper draws attention to the idea of human and civil rights and freedoms in the teachings of social democracy. For the jurists of social democracy, the development of the idea of human and civil rights and freedoms is nothing more than the materialization of the spirit of the revolution, and therefore the problems of the legal status of the individual in the works of right socialist thinkers received a special place. In conclusion, the author draws conclusions about the contribution of Russian lawyers of the right socialist group to the world fund of legal science.