Axiological Aspect of Legal Consequential Thought of the Late 18th – Early 20th Centuries

Abstract

This article is devoted to a comprehensive review of the axiological measurement of legal consequentialism, analysing the ideas of law theorists representing the utilitarian and close to utilitarian branches on the view of values essential for society and state development. The purpose of the article is to identify what value is key for legal consequentialism as a whole, as a theory based on the significance of the result of legal actions, as well as for legal utilitarianism, which necessitates maximising utility. The article focuses on content analysis of key trends in the main legal doctrines of legal consequentialism. In these trends, the authors single out the main concepts, bearing in mind their value for legal science. The conclusion section of the study generalises the categories that appear valuable for legal consequentialism and formulates the common values of legal consequentialism. The authors justify the need for preserving the axiological aspect of rights and freedom of man and citizen, for ensuring the principles of equality and justice, the humanistic basis for legal activity and the unacceptability of rejecting the said values for a utility or other maximisation.