Dialectics of legality-legitimacy and legality-legitimacy in legal science: historiographical aspects

The subject of the study is the problem of understanding and interpreting the concept of "legality," which in various (modified) forms has reflected one of the main research and practical themes in legal science in modern history. Initiated by I. Kant in the form of formal legality and internal, moral legality (morality), this theme subsequently, in the 20th century and up to the present day, has been significantly modified in relation to legality and legitimacy. Moreover, the latter is filled with diverse content, ranging from political-sociological to moral-ethical (represented as some kind of higher legality). The blending of various approaches (legal, sociological, political, ethical), while sharing the same etymological content - "lawful," creates a basis for the maximum simplification of the concept of "law," the meaning of which is revealed not through legal, but rather political-sociological means and techniques. The methodology of the research is based on the analysis and comparison of legality and legitimacy from the perspective of etymology and the relationship between history and modernity. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that the problem of legality, considering its modifications in legal literature, is examined in the context of the relationship between its terminological variants, such as legality and legitimacy, which reflect different disciplinary approaches within the domain of legal science. Based on the analysis of the relationship between legality and legitimacy, it is concluded that the problem of legality currently represents a need to understand it not only as a method or principle but also as a rationally and value-based necessary social-practical (social-political) demand.