On the History of Lawmaking as a Social System

The article examines lawmaking as a social system that was finally formed in the leading legal orders in the twentieth century. The first stage is associated with the emergence of natural law, it was based on the ideas of philosophers and lawyers of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. The second stage, which began in the VII and VIII centuries, was determined by the ideas of the philosophy of rationalism, the theory of natural and inalienable human rights, the social contract, the doctrine of civil society and the rule of law, and the historical school of law. The third, the modern stage of lawmaking, is associated with the enrichment of its theory with the views of soft or moderate positivism, democratic ideas of popular lawmaking, and the formation of a systemic law-making mechanism. The development of the law-making doctrine in Russia is analyzed, its specificity and difference from the Western tradition are shown, i.e. the connection with customary law and religious law, the development of the theory of law-making by Soviet legal science, the enrichment of law-making practice with new legal forms. The article presents classical and modern views on lawmaking, including the use of modern technologies in lawmaking.