The Logos of Biolaw: The Biotechnological Transformation of Human Beings and Fundamental Legal Categories

As society evolves, law, in its capacity as a mechanism of social regulation, is required to address new objects and phenomena entering the sphere of legal regulation. It gives legal form to the social relations arising in connection with them by defining the rights and obligations of the participants, establishing rules of conduct, and providing remedies for violations of rights. The sequencing of the human genome and recent scientific advances in biotechnology have made it possible to intervene in human biology and human nature in qualitatively new ways. These developments demonstrate the need for legal mechanisms governing genetic engineering activities. The article outlines potential trajectories for the transformation of law based on the recognition of biolaw as a new methodological foundation for such transformation. It also examines conceptual approaches to defining the place of biolaw within the system of law.