The article discusses the basic classical and post-classical concepts of law. The author, through the critical analysis, shows the pros and cons of these concepts and presents his own approach to the definition of law. The basic provision of law understanding is that law is a consequence of individual human activities and a means of social communication, like language and other iconic systems. This un derstanding of law dates back to ancient times and boils down to the interpretation of a man as a person capable of understanding and interaction. Recognition of a person, his rights and freedoms as the supreme value places a person and his rela- tionship with others, rather than a legislative or another norm, at the heart of the legal reality. The claim of a person to a certain life benefit and the recognition of this claim as legitimate by others, i. e. not infringing on the interests of others and society as a whole (only the latter case develops a need for the norm as an official criterion for legality), is central to the formation of law. Recognition of the claim as legitimate is a basic element, a principle of law understanding. The individual’s claim, due to its recognition, receives a law-forming power and, thereby, becomes an individual’s right.