Subject of Law and Legal Relations — Transformation of Doctrinal Approaches

Introduction: Issues of subjects of law and subjects of legal relations attract the attention of scholars belonging to various branches of law, but the works devoted to this topic do not illuminate the whole essence of the problem, as there are aspects that have never been considered when studying subjects of law and subjects of legal relations. The article discusses the topic of subjects of law and legal relations in the absence of a citizen, which has not aroused scientific interest, in legal literature such studies are not presented. A citizen can be recognized as missing in action if there is no information about his place of residence, while the subject of law as an individual is a complexly structured subject and when a person is recognized as missing in action, the existence of a component part of an individual, namely, a legal personality, is not always taken into account by the legislator. When analyzing the subject of law and legal relations, it can be concluded that when considering these subjects through the lens of a citizen’s missing in action, there is a transformation of the view of an individual as an individual — a citizen and a legal personality, which allows for a new perspective on the legal regulation of various social relations.

Methodology and materials: The work uses a comparative legal analysis of legislation, the general scientific (dialectical) method of cognition, formal-logical interpretation, system and comparative analysis, the historical method, and the method of historicism. The study is based on the main and key regulatory acts. The theoretical basis of the work is the main works.

The results of the study and their discussion: The analysis of the norms showed that the novelties regarding the regulation of relations arising from unknown absence concern procedural issues, as well as issues related to the declaration of death of unknown absent citizens. At the same time, through the prism of unknown absence, it is clearly visible that an individual citizen can disappear and be declared missing, but a legal entity cannot. When dealing with issues related to the disappearance of a person and/or the declaration of a person missing, there is a problem that the legislator does not consider that a legal entity cannot disappear or be declared missing, and this is only partially addressed by the legislator. Thus, as a participant in legal relations, an unknown absentee citizen is unable to fulfill their obligations towards other persons, and these obligations are fulfilled through certain legal means, such as the institution of trust management, etc.

Conclusions: When analyzing the subject of law and legal relations, it can be concluded that viewing these subjects through the lens of an unknown absentee citizen transforms the perception of an individual as an individual citizen and a legal personality, offering a fresh perspective on the legal regulation of various social relations.

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