Transformation of the Principles of Judicial Administration in the Context of Building a State governed by the Rule of Law: Historical-Legal and Sociological Dimensions

Abstract

The study is aimed at carrying out a comprehensive, interdisciplinary analysis of the evolution and contemporary transformation of the fundamental principles of justice in Ukraine. By means of historical-comparative and retrospective research methods, the genesis of procedural institutions is traced from ancient Rus law to the modernization processes of the nineteenth century. The application of the comparative-legal and structural-functional approaches has allowed for a juxtaposition of domestic historical legal monuments with Western European counterparts, as well as a systemic examination of public trust in the judiciary, legal nihilism, and the consequences of implementing digital technologies in the justice system.

The existence of deep-seated European roots within the Ukrainian procedural tradition is proven, traced from the adversarial elements of the earliest codifications to the institutionalization of professional legal defense within the Lithuanian Statutes and the right of the Hetmanate period. It is established that the natural development of liberal principles was severely deformed by the Soviet totalitarian experience, which asserted the priority of political expediency and formed a persistent alienation between society and the judicial branch. The current state of Ukrainian justice is characterized through the concept of institutional hybridity. The impact of martial law is assessed, which confirmed the institutional resilience of the judicial system, yet actualized theoretical discussions regarding the limits of modifying the classical principles of the oral and direct nature of court hearings.

It is concluded that an effective movement into the single European legal space depends on a synergistic combination of historical experience, consistent political will, and continuous sociological monitoring of empirical legal practices, which will allow for neutralizing the destructive totalitarian legacy and ensuring the sustainable legitimacy of judicial power.