“Pravova derzhava”. Issue 37 (2026), pages 193–202.

DOI: 10.33663/0869-2491-2026-37-193-202

Okuniev Ihor
Invalidity as a type of legal state

ISSN online: 2617-9776 print: 0869-2491

Invalidity is traditionally interpreted in legal doctrine primarily as a legal consequence, sanction, or result of a violation of law. Such an approach significantly narrows the theoretical and methodological potential of this category and does not allow for a comprehensive explanation of its functioning within legal reality. In the context of legislative reforms and increasing complexity of legal regulation, there is a growing need to reconsider invalidity as a more complex legal phenomenon. One of the insufficiently developed, yet conceptually important, perspectives is the understanding of invalidity as a specific type of legal (juridical) state that characterizes the legal existence of defective legal phenomena.

The aim of the article is to substantiate the concept of invalidity as a type of legal state and to identify its essential characteristics through the analysis of the categories “state” and “legal state” in legal theory. The article seeks to move beyond the narrow perception of invalidity as merely a legal consequence and to justify its interpretation as an objectively existing form of legal being within the legal system. Based on the analysis of philosophical, linguistic, and legal approaches to the notion of “state,” the article demonstrates that a legal state represents a relatively stable, temporally defined form of existence of legal phenomena, characterized by a set of legally significant properties. It is argued that invalidity fully corresponds to the features of a legal state, as it exists exclusively within legal reality, is normatively modeled, and arises due to the presence of a system of defective legal characteristics of legal acts, transactions, or other legal phenomena. Invalidity is shown to have a dynamic nature, as it may arise, change, or terminate depending on the development of a legal situation and the elimination of legal defects. The article also establishes the polyfunctional nature of invalidity, which performs evaluative, restrictive, protective, and corrective functions within the mechanism of legal regulation. 

The study concludes that invalidity should be understood as a normative and socially conditioned legal state that objectively exists within legal reality, reflects the abnormal legal position of a defective legal phenomenon, and serves as a legal condition for the application of specific legal consequences aimed at restoring legal order. Conceptualizing invalidity as a legal state expands the explanatory potential of legal theory and provides a more consistent methodological basis for the analysis of invalid legal acts and legal situations.

Keywords: invalidity, law, legal state, legal reality, defect of a legal phenomenon.

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Дата першого надходження рукопису до видання: 29.01.2026
Дата прийнятого до друку рукопису після рецензування: 03.03.2026
Дата публікації: 24.03.2026