Systematization Theory: From Classical Concepts to Innovations in the Digital Legal Environment

The purpose of the study is to provide a comprehensive assessment of the development of the legal theory of systematization, to show the stages of its evolution from traditional forms to innovations of the digital society. To achieve the purpose of the research, the formal legal method, methods of analysis and synthesis were used, the legal monuments of bygone eras were analyzed, the doctrinal Russian literature was studied, and modern trends in the field of systematization were identified. It is noted that systematization in one form or another is characteristic of almost all legal systems, as it is interconnected with the systemic nature of law. At the same time, codification as a type of systematization is characteristic of the Romano-Germanic legal family. It is emphasized that systematization has always been characteristic of the Russian legal tradition, as evidenced by such monuments of the past as Russkaya Pravda, the Judicial Codes of 1497 and 1550, the Cathedral Code of 1649, the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire and others. After 1917, Soviet law also began to be shaped by systematization. The article raises the question of the need to investigate the methodology of systematization, including from a historical and legal perspective. Three main stages of the development of such a methodology are highlighted, and the role of the All-Union Institute of Law Sciences and the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Soviet Legislation in the development of the theoretical foundations of the systematization of Soviet legislation is emphasized. The importance of the work carried out under the leadership of I. S. Samoshchenko is emphasized. With regard to the digital stage of systematization development, the following questions have been raised: about the place of accounting among the types of systematization; about the limits of codification and its role in the context of the digitalization of the legal environment; about the use of incorporation and consolidation to systematize atypical legal arrays; on the need for a theoretical justification of digital systematization.