Marriage as an institutional phenomenon of the family law

Relevance . There are three simultaneous concepts of marriage existing in modern family law science (marriage as a sacrament, marriage as a contract and marriage as a special union or entity), which are seen as being equal in the legal reasoning of researchers. This approach has not only resulted in confusing the social, legal and historical dimensions of marriage, but also shifted the vector of family law discussion in the direction contrasted with understanding marriage as an institutional phenomenon, and offered scope for positioning marriage as a hybrid phenomenon. The purpose of this study is to substantiate the thesis that within the family law framework, marriage can only be viewedas a legal institution having an organic relationship with other family law institutions. The objective of the research is drawing doctrinal differences between institutional, sociological, demographic and historical approaches to marriage. Methodology . In addition to general scientific research methods, the methods used include formal-legal, historical-legal and interdisciplinary methods of the marriage cognition, as well as system analysis and generalizations. An interdisciplinary approach has been widely used in view of the complexity and multidisciplinary nature of marriage as a research subject. Results . Within the framework of family law, marriage, as an institutional structure, has its own purpose and function and cannot be regarded as a fluid or neutral phenomenon which, depending on the subjective preferences of a particular author or the parties to the marriage, might be considered a contract, a quasi-contract, a sacrament, a community, a bulwark of the family and the state, or a union of a special kind. The variety of research approaches to marriage contributes to the cognition of this phenomenon but does not negate its legal essence and the legal logic that is assigned to it by the norms of positive family law. Conclusions . The institutional form of marriage makes it possible to understand marriage as an exact legal phenomenon having parameters and characteristics set by the legislator.