Law, being determined by social changes, undergoes significant changes. The scale of social transformation gives grounds to assume that a new taxonomy of law is being established. This includes changes in the legal profession, significant transformation of the demand of the state and industry in terms of the knowledge and competences of a modern lawyer. Accordingly, this increases responsibility of legal educational institutions and law faculties for training lawyers. The paper attempts to form an understanding of legal innovation and legal innovation theory, to highlight the subject matter and methodological areas of legal innovation formation. In particular, the legal innovation theory is defined by the author as an interdisciplinary field of knowledge about the processes of emergence, implementation and administration of innovations in jurisprudence. At the same time, the subject-legal component of the legal innovation theory lies at the level of legal understanding, where comprehension and rethinking of what is the law of the 21st century is taking place. In turn, legal innovation actually constitutes legitimization of social or scientific and technological innovation, incorporation of a new normative structure (institution) that qualitatively transforms regulation of emerging or predicted social relations into the field of law. The study of legal innovations, being a subject area of the legal innovation theory, involves conceptualization of knowledge about innovation process in law and its administration, as well as the study of the transformation of the law itself and the legal profession, since legal innovations create a demand for new knowledge and competences for lawyers. Based on the achievements of the theory of the pedagogical innovation theory, the paper outlines methodological approaches to building a new model of legal education in conjunction of the content component, new teaching methods, formats of the educational process, logistics of the educational process that influence the formation and implementation of legal innovations. Some approaches have been put into practice at Kutafin Moscow State Law University (MSAL) and their application can be extended.

In the paper, the author endeavours to form a comprehensive legal characterization of the national interests of the Russian Federation in the World Ocean consolidated in the new Maritime Doctrine approved by the Decree of the President of Russia dated 31 July 2022. The paper highlights a vital nature of the needs of the State and society that represent conceptual basis for the establishment and implementation of Russian national interests in the World Ocean. The author argues that national maritime interests should be understood as a complex and integral political and legal category of a dual nature, covering both interests in the peaceful use of living and non-living resources of the World Ocean, including commercial navigation and naval activities aimed, inter alia, at ensuring the economic and social interests of the state and society in the maritime sphere. The author highlights the importance of identifying vital, important and other areas (zones) for implementation of national interests. Also, attention is focused on the need for doctrinal development and improvement of a set of legal norms regarding maritime activities in the Azov-Black Sea basin. The paper substantiates a positive role and current activity of the representatives of the Sevastopol scientific School of Maritime Law in the formation and development of systemic legal regulation of the legal status and features of the use of the sea spaces of the Azov-Black Sea basin. In addition, the author analyzes the prospects for strengthening and promoting the national interests of the Russian Federation and qualifies a spatial sphere of their implementation that covers the entire World Ocean and the Caspian Sea. The paper proposes a systematic approach to implementation of national interests in the World Ocean based on an interconnected set of various legal characteristics including teleological; institutional; functional; formal-legal; vital; international law characteristics.

The concept of the rule of law is important both for the domestic law of States and in international law. In practice, some difficulties arise due to the lack of an accurate definition of its content. There is an opinion that it is easier to refer to this concept than to define its content. The problem is indicated in the documents of the United Nations (UN). The UN General Assembly resolution of 16 September 2005, in the section devoted to the rule of law principle, emphasizes the need for its universal observance and application both in national legal systems and in international law. The documents adopted under the auspices of the UN also highlight an important role played by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the implementation of this concept. Uniform and impartial application of law by the court is a reflection of the idea of the rule of law. All the activities of the ICJ as one of the main UN bodies serve to strengthen and promote this concept. By adopting decisions and advisory opinions, the Court contributes to clarifying and strengthening the influence of international law on relations between States. The development of the idea of the rule of law also affects activities of UN bodies, increasing predictability of their activities. In its practice, the ICJ gives it exceptional legitimacy and a broad scope of action, due to which the rule of law contributes to the implementation of the goals and principles of the UN. The Court’s contribution to the promotion of the concept is particularly noticeable in the framework of ongoing activities for the peaceful settlement of international disputes, clarification and dissemination of international law and its application on an equal basis to all subjects.

The global financial crisis and its consequences have now received a new round of development in both the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation. These events very clearly demonstrate their negative impact on society and its vital activity. And as a consequence of a difficult economic situation in these two countries, the credit and banking sector of the economy today is one of the most criminogenic. The paper is devoted to the analysis of the objective composition of the illegal receipt of a loan provided for in the Criminal Code of the People’s Republic of China and the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The author examines statutory regulation in Article 175.1 of the Criminal Code of the People’s Republic of China and Article 176 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation of mandatory signs in the context of the object, subject and other characteristics of the facts of the crime. The analysis of the legal provisions on illegal receipt of a loan indicates a number of problems related to understanding the immediate object of the crime in question, its subject and certain signs of the facts of the crime, as well as the existence of legislative gaps in the criminal law regulation of this crime in both countries. These are, first of all, the problems of legal benefits (the object of the crime) that are encroached upon by the illegal receipt of a loan, i.e., what will be its specific object and what will be the direct object; whether it is worth providing for an independent composition in relation to the state special-purpose loan with a special part; whether such negotiable documents (financial bills) as a letter of credit, accounting bills, a letter of guarantee, etc. should be included in the scope of the objects of this crime; whether there is a need to replace the norm «knowingly false information about the economic situation and financial condition» of Article 176 of the Criminal Code with the wording «deceptive method», etc. All these issues require a mandatory solution.

The paper provides a comparative legal research on the regulation of relations for rendering paid services under civil laws of Russia and France. The authors note the significant influence of Roman private law on the formation of legal regulation of the relations under consideration in France. The paper explores the problems of differentiating legal regimes of works and services, as well as the admissibility of their convergence. It also analyzes the possibility of involving third parties in the performance of a contract for rendering paid services and pecularities of its termination, including termination in the case of impossibility of execution. The relevance of the research is explained by the fact that Russian legislation and law enforcement practice lack comprehensive criteria for differentiating between works and services, which affects the legal qualification of relations under consideration. In order to find a solution to this problem and ways to improve the quality of legal regulation of relations of providing paid services, the authors turn to the study of the French law and order. The authors come to the conclusion that French legislation allows for the convergence of legal and economic concepts of services. This approach makes it possible to combine into a special group all known contracts related to useful economic activity in favor of the customer, as well as to approach the issue of interrelation between the contract for rendering paid services and the works contracts. The analysis of the concept and legal regime of works and services allows us to distinguish two features — legal and factual — inherent in the works contract and paid services contract. Within the framework of specifics of the termination of the paid services contract, the authors investigate three problems: unilateral refusal to perform the contract, termination of the contract in the event of the death of the parties and the impossibility of its execution.

The paper notes that in ancient societies, the responsibility did not start with guilt, but rather with infliction of harm, when harm or losses were compensated to victims (creditors) only in connection with this infliction, the debtor’s mental attitude to his actions was not taken into account. Guilt as a mental attitude of the subject to their illegal action (inaction) and the ensuing consequences appeared in connection with the formation of an individualistic worldview in society. From this period on, responsibility begins to be based on the principles of guilt. There is a gradual overcoming of fundamentals of the infliction of harm. Subsequently, the ideas of individualism began to lose their appeal to society and the process of transition from individualism to collectivism began. In matters of responsibility this was reflected in the emergence of strict liability, when compensation for losses (harm) was carried out not in connection with the establishment of a certain mental attitude of the subject to their illegal behavior, but for the very fact of causing harm or losses. Currently, in the science of civil law, there is no longer that urgency in the discussion about the principles of responsibility: both the fundamentals of guilt and the fundamentals of infliction of harm are recognized by legislation and judicial practice. It can be argued that the fundamentals of infliction of harm will be recognized in even greater volumes. In particular, from such positions, apparently, it is necessary to resolve the issue of compensation for damage to the victim caused by an object controlled by artificial intelligence, it will not even be strict, as the responsibility of the owner of the source of increased danger, but general (absolute) liability for the very fact of causing harm.

The article is aimed at comparing different concepts of individual right protection. The author dwells on two theories of claims for moral harm. They are the rebuttable presumption relied on in the EU, and the need to provide evidence of harm under Russian law. In addition to reviewing several doctrinal works, higher courts rulings and the European views on the topic, the author focuses on the question of the relationship between moral and reputational harm, noting here that not all of the identified doctrinal concepts correspond to strict legislative terminology. For example, information injurious to honor, dignity, or business reputation may not cause harm (save for moral harm) but is associated with the occurrence of damages. It seems to be the first work advocating the thesis that damages can be recovered instead of non-pecuniary harm. The Russian tort law concept bares some features of Soviet tradition with strict division between reimbursement of harm and recovery of losses. It was allowed only when reimbursement in kind grew impossible. That was later transferred on to judicial discretion to determine the right means of legal protection. The formula that recovery of losses is a substitute of compensation of any harm had been set forth in Civil Code serving as a legal basis to sue for losses in lieu of moral damage.

The abolition of the constitutional (statutory) courts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation as specialized bodies of legal protection of the Basic Law has set the task of forming new mechanisms for ensuring constitutional legality for the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the federal legislator, having authorized the creation of constitutional (statutory) councils of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, did not determine either their status or the procedure for their formation. At the same time, it is the order of formation that often determines the real place and role in the system of public power, and the unresolved issue will prevent the creation of constitutional (statutory) councils in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. In addition, it is the order of formation of the body (and not the competence or the order of work) that is given the main attention in the three laws on already established constitutional councils in the Republics of Yakutia, Adygea and Bashkiria. The paper analyzes the experience of the formation of constitutional protection bodies of the Basic Law and, above all, constitutional (statutory) courts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation as historical predecessors of constitutional (statutory) councils. The problems of establishing requirements for candidates for members of the constitutional (statutory) councils of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are studied. The order of formation of constitutional councils in Yakutia, Adygea and Bashkiria is analyzed. The three most probable models of formation of constitutional (statutory) councils of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are substantiated. The authors propose a model that is deemed optimal. They suggest appointing members of the constitutional (statutory) council exclusively by the legislative (representative) authority of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation following the proposal of a wide range of state bodies, officials and organizations (and not only on the proposal of the head of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation). It is also proposed to establish separate deadlines for submitting candidates to the parliament of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation and for subsequent decision-making thereon. At the same time, the deadline for submitting candidates to the House of Parliament should be sufficient for proper notification and selection of candidates and should be at least three months, while the deadline for making a decision on candidates can and should be as short as possible (for example, one month). It is proposed to replicate the experience of the Constitutional Council of Adygea, the chairman, deputy Chairman and secretary of which are elected by the constitutional advisers of Adygea from among their members.

The paper reveals the essence of «behavioral finance»: it is a field of scientific knowledge that studies the influence of emotions, cognitive biases and social factors on financial decision-making. Behavior is an approach to the interaction of a person with the outside world. It is obvious that the study of behavior lies more in the plane of biology, physiology and psychology than in jurisprudence. At the same time, it should be understood that it is the behavior of legal entities that affects public relations, which, in turn, are regulated by the norms of law. The paper reveals the factors influencing the behavior of consumers of financial services in the digital economy. In particular, it is indicated that people have fundamentally different attitudes towards cash and monetary funds that are not expressed in cash (non-cash, electronic and digital). In this context specifically, it is necessary to note the general information background associated with blockchain technology. Thanks to the media and against the background of the success of bitcoin and a number of altcoins, at some point in society there was an opinion that investing in cryptocurrencies (and later in NFTs) is more profitable than investing in traditional financial instruments. All of the above leads to the fact that a citizen who is motivated to earn easy money, but does not have the necessary knowledge, loses money as a result of unsuccessful investments in the financial market, and often simply becomes a victim of fraud. The paper highlights the problem of the practical use of behavioral finance in the framework of legal regulation of public relations emerging in the financial market. At the same time, the Bank of Russia evaluates, however limited, behavioral aspects in the process of supervision of the financial market.

The paper critically reflects on the changes in criminal legislation implemented in 2022: 15 federal laws, which changed the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, were adopted. A third of them is directly related to Russia conducting a special military operation. The review analyzes the most important changes, indicating the problems that arise in connection with their adoption, and suggests ways to solve these problems. The main results of the reform of the General Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (in particular, the expansion of the list of aggravating circumstances) are highlighted. In 2022, 16 new articles were included in the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and 38 existing ones were subject to adjustments. The main trends of these changes include the expansion of criminalization, the strengthening of differentiation, and the tightening of criminal responsibility. The problems of differentiation of sexual crimes by taking into account the multiplicity of victims are critically investigated. An attempt is made to differentiate participation in an armed conflict and going over to the enemy’s side. The ratio of the bodies of crimes under Articles 207.3 and 280.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is analyzed with the need for unification in the criminal law of public appeals to violation of federal legislation. Some difficulties in the new understanding of torture are considered. The strengthening of artificial competition of criminal law norms on the example of the compositions provided for by new Articles 201.2, 201.3, 285.5, 285.6 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The main trends in the change of crimes against military service are identified. The unfaithfulness of the legislative regulation of criminal encroachments through the allocation as independent crimes of certain stages of an unfinished crime or types or forms of complicity in a crime on the example of anti-diversionary crime compositions is emphasized (Articles 281.1–281.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), etc.

The establishment of the Supreme Court of the RSFSR is connected with the unification of the judicial system, the renewal of the legal system and the first codification of republican legislation, due to the proclamation of a new economic policy and strict implementation of the principle of legality in all spheres of public life. In this regard, the Supreme Court of the RSFSR was entrusted with the most important function of ensuring the implementation of the principle of legality in the law enforcement activities of the republican courts. It was implemented through the consideration of cases by way of appeal in cassation and review of cases in a supervisory manner, through judicial explanations, interpretation of law, as well as a result of the reclamation of any cases that are in the proceedings of other courts of the Republic. The paper examines the little-studied practice of the Supreme Court of the RSFSR as a court of first instance. The material and procedural law of the Soviet period is analyzed to determine the categories of cases within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the RSFSR in the first instance. The first procedural codes (Civil Procedure and Criminal Procedure of 1923) outlined the judicial activity of the Supreme Court of the RSFSR as the first instance in both civil and criminal cases. In this regard, it is stated both the generic jurisdiction of cases, due, in particular, to counter-revolutionary, economic or official crimes, and exceptional, determined by cases of national importance. In the future, during the period of updating legislation dictated by the new codification of law, only exclusive jurisdiction is noted in the activities of the Supreme Court of the RSFSR, predetermined by cases of special complexity or special social significance, including those related to encroachment on state and ideological interests. The political resonance that accompanied the consideration of such cases ensured the achievement of the preventive goal of the «show trial».