Koban O. Ehrlich's sociology of law.

The thesis is devoted to the consideration of the scientific heritage of outstanding Ukrainian E. Ehrlich's thinker who along with other foreign and domestic scientists developed a sociological approach to law and one of the first defined the methodological foundations of a new juridical discipline - sociology of law. The basic law schools of the late XIX - early XX century are analyzed: natural and legal doctrine, legal positivism, sociological theory of law. It is established that a significant contribution to E. Ehrlich sociological approach to law is developing his theory of the elimination of judicial law-making gap, alive and customary law. It is studied that the methodological foundations of E. Ehrlich's sociology of law defined by setting its subject (legal facts, the emergence of legal offers social forces of the Union in society) and methods (observation, study of legal documents, mapping documents and living law, the use of historical and ethnological methods).