Introduction. The article considers the category of management from the standpoint of history, theory and philosophy. The law and the processes of its implementation in practice have been chosen as the social context within which the importance and potential of management has been studied.Materials and methods. The article actively uses both contributions of natural science and papers written for the purpose of understanding the humani-tarian knowledge. The methodological basis of the article includes the universal method of cognizability of the world, such logical methods as induction and deduction, the achievements of comparative jurisprudence, the method of text interpretation (mainly judicial decisions and regulations).The results of the study. The paper tries to answer the questions what management is in principle, what are the possible and acceptable forms of its manifestation in jurisprudence. The meanings in which management is used in the natural and human sciences are compared. A distinction is made between the concepts of “management of legal processes” and “public administration”.Law enforcement processes are much rationalized, and law has maintenance of order as its highest goal. The absence of reference to management in the procedural legislation serves as an indirect but sure sign that governance in law does not exist in the form in which it is represented in the natural sciences.Discussions and conclusions. Subject to the above it was concluded that management in law is manifested and realized in a peculiar way. It is implemented in legal processes through decentralized principles, i.e. by the participants themselves on a parity and consensual basis. The role of guides is played by symbolic means - the principles of law and the values protected by it. The role of doers is played by instrumental means - law enforcement agencies and institutions. The role of organizes is exercised by the subjects of law (individual, society and the state), and the function of consumers is realized by the subjects of specific legal relations.
