Scientific Journal of the National Academy of Internal Affairs

Purpose at studying Zaporozhian Sich Cossacks’ Law which is a constituent part of the Ukrainian law making, the authors proved that Zaporozhian Cossacks’ Law as a historical type of the Ukrainian customary law is a result of the evolution of historically formed behavioral rules into the naturally legal system of Zaporozhian Sich. The key principles and the main methods and means of study that constitute the methodological work tools were taken as the methodological basis of the research. The principles of historicism, systematicity, objectivity, comprehensiveness, continuity and other served as methodological rules of the research that made possible the achievement of the results mentioned below and brought the scientific novelty to the current scientific task in the historical and legal science. In particular, the research for the 1^st time concentrated on the opinion that the customary law dates back to the times of ethnic genesis and tribal consolidation of the local autochthonous as well as people that came to this land, formation of prototypes of state associations of Eastern Slavonic tribes. The effectiveness of the Cossacks’ customary law and the process of its transformation into the common law that became a significant factor in the Ukrainian national law-making was studied in detail. At the same time, it is accented that the transformation of the customary law of some Ukrainian territories into the purely national law was completed in the circumstances of the restored Ukrainian state in the 17^th c. In particular, the actuality of the Cossacks’ customary law and its outgrowth into the common law that has been traced in the research became a in important factor in the Ukrainian national law making. The generalised conclusions are that as a historical type of the Ukrainian customary law evolutioned from the old legal forms the Cossacks’ law has taken an important place in the Ukrainian law-making and became the prerequisite of the Ukrainian state revival in the 17^th century. However, the comprehensive study of the Zaporozhian Sich Cossacks’ Law within the context of Ukrainian law making proved that the historiography is still far from having covered the mentioned scientific problem fully and objectively enough. Thus, the authors reckon that the perspective of the further scientific researches into the Cossacks’ law is first of all in the deeper study of the original link and the fundamental element of the customary law in Ukraine – the transformed rule established exclusively in the natural way on the basis of the demands of the social relations