Law in conditions of war: functional dimension
Authors: Suniehin S. 
Published: December 2022

The article is devoted to the research of the peculiarities of the transformation of the law’s functions in the conditions of war. It is emphasized that the introduction of the legal regime of martial law leads to a temporary transformation of the substantive component of the functional burden of law, due to the replacement of ordinary law and order by the extraordinary administrative-legal regime. In particular, the legal regulation of social relations during the war should be aimed at introducing temporary restrictions on financial and economic activities, free circulation of property, goods and services, etc.; to establish temporary restrictions on the search, receipt and dissemination of certain information; to ensure a temporary change in the forms of ownership of legal entities, as well as the regime of employees, etc.

Adoption of these and many other restrictive and prohibitive legal norms in the conditions of martial law is associated with the need to ensure primarily those national interests that are relevant in the context of war or threat of its occurrence, including manufacturing, performance of works and services for the state, provision of the armed forces, other military formations, law enforcement agencies and the population. At the same time, the legal regime of martial law provides not only the strengthening of obligations, restrictions and prohibitions, but also giving certain subjects in specific legal relations additional rights and opportunities. This is due to the fact that war and martial law necessarily require the acceleration of a number of social processes that operate both within certain organizational structures and in the context of society as a whole and its elements.

As a result of research the following conclusions are made:

2.1. Regulatory and protective impact of law on society in the conditions of martial law is dialectical in nature and provides for a significant strengthening of responsibilities, restrictions and prohibitions, which corresponds to the administrative and legal nature of this legal regime, and the simultaneous provision of additional opportunities and rights for certain entities in specific legal relationships and minimizing their formal context.

2.2. The transformation of the ideological and educational function of law in wartime is due to a temporary change in value priorities in public life, which is to reassess life values at the individual and collective levels, in the hierarchy of which are no longer private but public interests, aimed at ensuring integrity and internal unity of society as a whole. During the functioning of the legal regime of martial law, the ideological and educational function of law must first proclaim, justify and consolidate the social justification and fairness of additional legal restrictions and obligations for individuals and legal entities, as well as affirm the ideal of social discipline and responsibility, civic duty etc.

2.3. The compensatory-restorative function of law reaches its greatest practical embodiment in the conditions of martial law and post-war reconstruction of the state, which is due to the destructive impact of war on all spheres of human life without exception. As a result of the war, the entire system of constitutional rights and freedoms of man and citizen is violated, which requires the state to create and ensure the proper functioning of special mechanisms to compensate individuals and legal entities for war damage and restore their social status.

2.4. Legal support of martial law in modern democracies should be carried out in compliance with the basic principles of building the rule of law and social state, which will allow emergency legislation to serve as a tool to ensure security, restore of law and order and return to normal peaceful life as soon as possible with a full-fledged regime of observance of the rights and freedoms of citizens.

Key words: law, functions of law, war, legal regime, martial law, human rights, civil society, morality