PREFACE

Education and science are the driving forces of the effective progress of society and the state, all spheres of life. Domestic legal education and science, which are currently undergoing rapid development, renewal of worldview and methodological principles, orientation towards universally recognized models of democracy, rights and fundamental freedoms, are of particular importance for the development of a sovereign, independent, cathedral, democratic, legal, and social state of Ukraine.

Gradually strengthening its potential in accordance with the modern standards of higher education of Ukraine, the academy is developing in all areas of innovative activity, thanks to which it has established itself as a leading scientific and methodical center, a basic institution for training a new generation of lawyers and law enforcement officers. Today, the academy trains specialists for the degrees of bachelor’s, master's, doctor of philosophy and doctor of sciences, more than 15,000 students of higher education are studying full-time and part-time. Only during the years of independence, more than 70,000 legal specialists were trained. More than 230 generals are among the graduates of the institution.

The educational process at the academy is aimed at the transfer, assimilation, multiplication and use of knowledge, skills, and other competencies of higher education applicants, in accordance with the qualification characteristics of the positions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, and is organizationally implemented in the form of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS), which is used in the European educational space.

Among the general academic departments that provide theoretical legal training of law enforcement officers, the department of the theory of the state and law, which was created in 1989, has gone through a difficult path of transformation and today has developed as a powerful and self-sufficient scientific and pedagogical team that effectively provides the educational process, stands out. The department has done and is doing a lot to update educational programs, improve the educational process, and deepen the connections between theoretical science and legal practice. Over the years of the department’s existence, its employees have prepared more than 80 textbooks, study guides, monographs and other publications. In particular, textbooks, manuals on the theory of the state and law, legal deontology, and police deontology became one of the first in independent Ukraine.

This study guide on the theory of the state and law is a continuation of this tradition, which is distinguished from others by the desire of its authors to adapt the general provisions of the theory of the state and law as a fundamental legal science and a basic educational discipline to the specifics of the professional activity of police officers to ensure the formation of cadets (students, students) of the basics of the legal worldview, understanding the multifaceted legal picture of the world, the peculiarities of the construction of statehood and the legal system of Ukraine, prospects for their development. The author's collective has also done the task of facilitating the perception of such modern legal values as the rule of law, democracy, and human rights. All together, it will contribute to the acquisition of the skills of independent search for normative and doctrinal sources, adequate interpretation of legal texts, the ability to apply general theoretical legal knowledge to understand the uniqueness of the appointment, organization and activity of the police in the modern conditions of the state and legal development of Ukraine.

Stanislav HUSAREV, The first vice-rector of the National Academy of Internal Affairs, doctor of legal sciences, professor, honored lawyer of Ukraine