Protection of Family Values in Russian Law: Questions of Theory and Practice

Introduction: at the moment, Russia is further developing the concept of traditional values, which include family values. Nevertheless, a number of regulatory and protective norms are already aimed at solving this problem, which requires doctrinal research and reflection. There are also a number of controversial issues related to the formation of a mechanism of guarantees for the protection of family values, including economic, political, as well as spiritual and moral guarantees. The purpose of the study is to reveal the features and possible directions of legal regulation for the development of the family values system in Russia. Methods: the analysis method made it possible to identify the main features of the category “family values” and its relationship with “traditional values”; the synthesis method was used to generalize the typological features of the family legal categories used in the paper; and the analogy method made it possible to identify practical features of ensuring the protection of family values in Russia. The comparative law method allowed studying the foreign experience of protecting family values, which can be used for the development of Russian family legislation. Using the formal legal method, a number of features and specifics of the statutory regulation of the protection of family values were identified. Results: despite the lack of normative consolidation, a number of political and legal acts defining the main directions of state family policy, as well as the norms of federal laws containing rules of conduct based on family values and measures of their legal support, are devoted to the protection of family values. It seems advisable to amend Article 1 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation with a new principle dedicated to the protection of family values, which will make it possible to more clearly fix this vector of state policy. The implementation of this principle will take place both through legal means and through the use of economic, political, spiritual, moral, and other ways to influence the behavior of participants in public relations. Conclusions: at the moment, the Family Code of the Russian Federation and other laws contain regulatory and protective norms dedicated to the implementation and protection of the family rights of citizens of the Russian Federation. Family values are realized in them by creating conditions for marriage, regulating property relations in the family, determining the grounds and procedure for collecting alimony for children and other family members, and protecting legally free children. The protective norms are devoted to the prohibition of family violence and propaganda of homosexuality, the adoption of measures to curb the evasion of child support payments, etc.