Lawmakers’ Goal-Setting and Legal Implementation: Structure, Functions, and Attainment Criteria

The article examines lawmakers’ goal-setting as a methodological and practical component of legal regulation that shapes the choice of legal instruments, the design of procedures, and the outcomes of legal implementation. Goals are conceptualized as a multi-level construct comprising an ideal goal, intermediate goals, and instrumental goals, which explains the transition from a normative plan to the factual state of social relations. The study outlines the key functions of goals in law (guiding, integrative, evaluative, communicative, and protective) and proposes attainment criteria grounded in legal certainty, proportionality of interference, procedural safeguards, and the coherence of substantive and procedural elements of regulation. Particular attention is paid to transparency and public feedback as conditions for trust in law and the stability of legal order. The article concludes that the effectiveness of legal regulation should be assessed not only by formal compliance with legal norms, but also by achieving the intended socio-legal state while preserving predictability in law enforcement and a balanced accommodation of private and public interests.