Features of the Concept of Legitimation in Russian Law Enforcement

Introduction: the topic of legitimation has received increasing attention in the legal community in recent years. However, a look at this process is not complete enough. So, basically, legitimation is only presented in the context of deliberative procedures in the legislative process. Nevertheless, legitimation represents a significant research and practical potential for compiling an objective picture of the effectiveness of domestic law enforcement, and therefore, the paper attempts to describe the concept of legitimation at this stage. Purpose: to propose explanatory models of the legitimation of norms in the process of law enforcement in the domestic legal system. Methods: the research methodology includes the socio-legal approach, the comparative law method, the system analysis, and the functional approach. As a result of the conducted research, the mechanisms of legitimation and delegitimization of legal norms in the context of domestic law enforcement are described and substantiated; the variability of such legitimation is shown and classified. Conclusions: like legislative norms, law enforcement decisions can also be included in the legitimation process. At the stage of law enforcement, legitimation may occur at the time when the law enforcement officer makes his decision on the case under consideration, as well as at the stage of execution of the decision by the person to whom it is addressed. In this regard, it is correct to draw a conclusion about the assessment of the effectiveness of the law enforcement process not by quantitative parameters of initiated or resolved cases but from the point of view of the qualitative parameter of the legitimacy of law enforcement decisions.