Page "Rechtsstaat" Paragraph 18

The Russian legal system, born out of transformations in the 19th century under the reforms of Emperor Alexander II, is based primarily upon the German legal tradition.

It was from here that Russia borrowed a doctrine of Rechtsstaat, which literally translates as legal state.

The concept of “ legal state ” () is a fundamental ( but undefined ) principle that appears in the very first dispositive provision of Russia ’ s post-Communist constitution: " The Russian Federation – Russia – constitutes a democratic federative legal state with a republican form of governance.

" Similarly, the very first dispositive provision of Ukraine ’ s Constitution declares: " Ukraine is a sovereign and independent, democratic, social, legal state.

" The effort to give meaning to the expression " legal state " is anything but theoretical.