The Political and Legal Nature of the Imperative Mandate

The article discusses the issues of the political and legal nature of the imperative mandate, the elements of which are of interest in today’s political discourse. The possibility of introducing into modern practice, for example, such an element of the imperative mandate as voters’ mandates is determined by the state of the legal system, the content of the principles that determine the legal relationship between the representative body and voters. The purpose of the study is to show the legal nature of the imperative mandate, its elements (orders from voters, recall of a deputy) and to determine the possibility of implementing its individual components in the modern practice of relations between voters and a representative body. The research is based on the dialectical method, which allowed us to consider the interdependence of the political system and the political and legal institutions generated by it. Private scientific methods were also used: comparative, formal legal and formal logic. The results of the study. The existence of a close connection between the Soviet political and legal systems predetermined the formation of political and legal institutions and the specifics of the implementation of relevant legal norms. In a one‑party system, this institution worked effectively, but with limited financial resources. It contributed to the establishment and maintenance of communication between the Party‑Soviet government structures and the people, and was an element of the ideological component of the mechanism of power. Under the conditions of a multiparty system, an imperative institution cannot work in the same way as in the Soviet period of the country’s development, since its political basis has been transformed. Conclusions. The revival of the institution of orders in its former form is very problematic, since the political and legal systems have changed. They are related to each other, but this relationship is based on other principles of interaction and mutual influence. Orders as an institution of communication between representative authorities and the population have received new and effective implementation tools. It has become possible to use legal means in the system of political relations, and an open political discussion allows for public discussion of important issues of organizing the life of society. Solving the issues raised in the discourse can also produce results outside the institution of voter orders.