MAGNA CARTA 1215 AND THE CONSTITUTION OF PYLYP ORLYK OF 1710: THE EPISTEMOLOGICAL POTENTIAL OF THE COMPARATIVE LEGAL APPROACH

Abstract

In the current conditions of the development of Ukrainian constitutionalism and legisla-tive reforms, the question of researching the philosophical-legal, socio-cultural and political sources of significant examples of national constitutionalism is relevant. One of such written monuments is the Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk, which became an important example of Ukrainian law-making in the early modern era. The article explores the cognitive potential of the comparative legal analysis of the Magna Carta of 1215 and the Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk of 1710. The Magna Carta was the first document that enshrined human rights. The Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk, in the condi-tions of absolutism prevailing in Europe at the beginning of the 18th century, for the first time at the constitutional level fixed safeguards against the usurpation of power by the hetman. Such tools in the Constitution were the principle of separation of powers, the election of senior officials, the legalization of the foundations of parliamentarism and the institute of general ad-visers, control over the use of the state budget. The article focuses on the comparative legal method, which takes into account not only the diversity of sources of law of different legal systems, but also the legal culture of the people, legal understanding, and legal policy. The article examines the commonality of the Magna Carta and the Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk with such universal values of natural law as limiting the absolute power of the monarch, protecting the right to property, guaranteeing justice, and consolidating customary rights. The topic of the article is promising, since the conceptual connection between the Magna Carta and the Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk is insufficiently researched in the scientific litera-ture, and the scientific works are fragmentary. Further study of this issue will contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the axiological values of Ukrainian constitutionalism, its he-reditary tradition, and the search for ways to solve practical problems.