On the Issue of Court Practice Interpretation

The nature of the court practice, its distinction from a judicial precedent and legal positions are considered in the article. The definition of the «court practice interpretation» as a special type of judicial activities is presented and the peculiarities of such activities are examined. Besides, the subjects that perform such interpretation are also defined and the stages of the process of court practices interpretation are analyzed. The definition of court practice is given through the consideration of the more general notion of judicial practice that was developed by the general theory of state and law. Hence, the court practice, as a type of the judicial practice, should include the judicial activity and the social and legal experience. The attention is focused on the fact that not only the official acts of the judicial bodies (decisions, rulings) which came into legal validity but also those ones which were revoked or repealed should be attributed to the court practice. The judicial precedent is defined and the features that distinguish it from the judicial practice are described. It has been accented that only the judicial precedent can be the form of law whereas the court practice can only be its source. The definition of legal positions and three main approaches to their explanation developed by scientists are also considered in the article. It is noticed that the legal positions can be developed not only by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine but also by other higher judicial organs and courts of general jurisdiction. The main attention is paid to the process of court practice interpretation which consists of two autonomous stages: ascertaining and explanation. It is pointed out that the subject of such interpretation can be not only the higher judicial organs but also the courts of general jurisdiction. The object of the interpretation comprises the official acts of judicial bodies that came into legal validity, and also those which were revoked or repealed and the subject matter is the «spirit» and «letter» of a judicial act. The aim and results of the process of the court practice interpretation are also considered in the article. The definition of the «court practice interpretation» is based on the main characteristics of the process of court practice interpretation. So, the court practice interpretation is an intellectual and volitional activity of the competent state judicial bodies which is aimed to ascertain the true content of the official acts of judicial bodies and develop the legal positions which can be used in hearing of some categories of cases.Стаття присвячена визначенню правової природи судової практики, її відмінностей від судового прецеденту та правових позицій. Дається визначення поняття «тлумачення судової практики» як особливого виду юридичної діяльності та розглядаються характерні ознаки такої діяльності. Крім того, визначаються суб’єкти, що здійснюють таке тлумачення, та аналізуються стадії процесу тлумачення судової практики.Статья посвящена установлению природы судебной практики, ее отличиям от судебного прецедента и правовых позиций. Дается определение понятия «толкование судебной практики» как особого вида юридической деятельности и рассматриваются характерные признаки такой деятельности. Определяются субъекты, осуществляющие такое толкование, и анализируются стадии процесса толкования судебной практики