BASIC FORMULA FOR DETERMINING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT: INTRODUCTION TO ANALYSIS

Abstract

Purpose of the article is to establish the main features of the basic formula for determining the effectiveness of law enforcement and its interpretation in terms of the properties of individual elements. The methodological basis of the research is the methods of analysis and synthesis, through which the relationship between law-making and law enforcement in the mechanism of legal regulation of social relations is determined. Their in-depth use in combination with the structural-functional method made it possible to detail the basic formula for determining the effectiveness of law enforcement, identifying three components of the goal and result of law enforcement. Results. Lawmaking and law enforcement are, in general terms, elements of a single mechanism of legal regulation, and the effectiveness of law enforcement can be measured using the same approach as the effectiveness of legal norms. The basic formula involves determining the effectiveness of law enforcement through the relationship between the result and the goal, where the “goal” is the ideal outcome (state), i.e., that defined by the law establishing a cause-and-effect model in the field of law enforcement, while the “result” is the actual consequence (state), i.e., that which the application of the law has actually led to. At the same time, the goal must be revealed through a triad of elements, which are: 1) the basis for law enforcement; 2) the act of law enforcement; 3) the consequences of law enforcement. Conclusions. The analyzed general formula for determining the effectiveness of law enforcement serves as a kind of guideline subject to further in-depth scientific and practical consideration in order to form a more detailed vision of the elements of the formula, taking into account specific areas of social relations, the purpose of legal regulation of specific types of relations, as well as the role of law enforcement agencies in ensuring the dynamics of relevant relations. This is primarily due to the different theological orientation of the activities of law enforcement agencies, as well as the conditions in which they operate. Another factor is the level and scope of discretion of the relevant agencies, taking into account the grounds for their application of normative provisions, as well as the consequences of their application, especially considering that the provisions of the law may provide for the right of an entity to perform one of several possible acts of law enforcement on the same grounds, which, in turn, will have different legal consequences for the participants in the relevant legal relations.