The Subject Matter of the History of State and Law Science

The paper provides a detailed analysis of the problem of defining the subject matter of the science of the history of state and law. It examines the relationship between the concepts of «subject of science» and «object of science», discusses various perspectives on the subject matter of historical legal science, and explores the nature of the history of state and law (whether it is primarily legal, historical, or a combination of both). The study addresses the temporal, spatial, and dogmatic boundaries of the subject matter of historical legal science, as well as its relationship with branch legal sciences, the theory of state and law, and the history of political and legal doctrines. The paper analyzes the structure of the science of the history of state and law and the structure of its subject matter, touching upon the relationship between the concepts of «history of law» and «dogmatics of law». It examines the empirical material of this discipline, including the historical (domestic and foreign) origins of the specialization of law, the development of legal theory, and the role of law among other social regulators in different historical epochs. The study also critiques the inadequacy of a purely positivist approach to understanding law for an objective study of the history of state and law and discusses the scholarly classification of the history of international law. The author presents their own perspective on these issues and their possible solutions. The work identifies and analyzes the «real» and «ideal» levels of historical legal research, their content, and significance.