The views of Nicholas Korkunov, Leon Petrażycki and Pitirim Sorokin on violation of law (the second half of the 19th — early 20th centuries)

Abstract

The paper deals with the ideas of some prominent members of the pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg-based school of the philosophy of law: Nicholas Korkunov, Leon Petrażycki, and Pitirim Sorokin. The author examines Korkunov’s vision of sanctions intended to prevent a delinquent from reaching the desired goals. The article also presents Petrażycki’s views on the protection of right and the consequences of a violation (especially that of civil offences) and on a legal fact that causes a certain legal relation. Petrażycki’s persuasive criticism of the coercion theory (absence of punishment in many cases of law violation), especially the theory of mental coercion, is discussed in detail. The author also specifies Petrażycki’s original views on ethical sentiments as consequence of law violation, on “authoritative-legal” emotions, on verbal and other types of disapproval by the people around in connection with breaking the law by natural persons, on the “odious-repressive” trends in legal mentality. The paper also deals with Sorokin’s insight into the history of prohibitions and punishments, his vision of various sources of unlawful behaviour, irrational legal bans and different punishments for violating the law, as well as their historical, cultural, class, cast-ridden and other determination. The author analyses Sorokin’s treatment of the motives of the law violation, mainly, that of a crime, as well as reaction of an individual or a social group to unlawful actions. The author of the paper has connected the views of the above-mentioned scholars on the law violation with their understanding of law. He proves the correctness of their ideas by various historic facts and examples and shows the similarity of their views, especially those of Petrażycki and Sorokin, on an individual’s wrongful behaviour, as well as on the influence of the psychological theory of law upon Sorokin’s approach toward the law violation.

Keywords:

law violation, types of law violations, guilt, motives of law violation, sanctions, theory of coercion, St. Petersburg school of the philosophy of law, sociological theory of law, psychological theory of law