European Integration as a Driving Force for the Development of Ukraine's Legal Culture and the Modernization of its Legal System

This article aims to analyze the development of Ukraine's legal culture in the context of its strategic course toward European integration and its impact on the modernization of the national legal system, which determines the relevance of this research. The study employed interdisciplinary and terminological approaches, as well as dialectical, hermeneutic, historical-legal, comparative-legal, system-functional, and legal modeling methods. The content of the concepts of "legal system" and "legal culture" is revealed, and their characteristics are provided. The core of the study is an analysis of the role of European integration (within the framework of both the Council of Europe and the European Union) in modernizing Ukraine's legal system and reforming its structural elements, particularly its legal culture. The article substantiates the importance of adapting Ukraine's legal system to the legal order of the European Union. This involves not only aligning Ukrainian legislation with the EU acquis communautaire but also adopting the system of legal values, principles, procedures, and practices on which EU law is based. Furthermore, it requires reorienting national legal science and legal education toward European standards. The research analyzes national legal acts and EU legal acts, which are mostly related to fulfilling the legal criteria for EU membership. Overall, the results of this study can be helpful for a more thorough analysis of the evolution of Ukraine's legal system under the influence of European integration processes. The findings can also aid in developing a draft Concept for improving the legal culture of Ukrainian society and measures aimed at raising the level of legal culture among civil servants.