USE OF LEGAL DEFINITIONS IN THE UKRAINIAN LEGISLATION (ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE CUSTOMS CODE OF UKRAINE IN THE LIGHT OF UKRAINIAN AND EUROPEAN APPROACHES)

Abstract

Abstract. The scope of this article covers aspects of using legal definitions from the point of view of Ukrainian and European doctrine and the relevant rules prescribed at the methodological and regulatory level. The analysis of Ukrainian legislation indicates the abundance of errors that can have a negative impact on law enforcement, so this motivates the need for research into ways of how to correct and avoid such errors. The relevance of such research is also justified by the fact that terminology and legal definitions are important tools of legislative drafting, and the proper application of this means allows the legislator to achieve the purpose behind the law (ratio legis). To determine the nature of legal definitions, the papers of Ukrainian and European lawyers and researchers were studied. It was found that the legal definition should be understood as a special means of ensuring the integrity and consistency of legal regulation; it exists in the form of a concise description of the legal concept and reflects its essential features. The formulation of legal definitions requires the application of appropriate language and logical rules. Based on the examples of legal definitions from the Customs Code of Ukraine, the main types of violations of these rules and conventions were shown. It is emphasized that legal definitions contribute to a consistent, harmonious combination of the letter and spirit of the law, perform a guiding function, which is manifested in the fact that they define a certain way of understanding the concept and limit the space for manoeuvres during their interpretation, as well as serve to institutionalize these phenomena. In German legal doctrine, an approach has been identified, according to which legal definitions should be understood as a special type of lower-level norms that contain restrictive modifications of generally formulated norms and perform “explanatory,” “restrictive,” and “supplementary” functions. The relevant normative acts and methodological recommendations used by the legislators in Ukraine, Poland, and the European Union were studied, and a conclusion was made about the possibility of the reception of certain provisions of foreign acts and methodological recommendations for application in Ukrainian legislative practice.