LECTURE 4. BASES OF CIVIL LAW OF UKRAINE PLAN 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Notion and sources of civil law of Ukraine.

Notion and types of civil legal relations. Concept of right of ownership. Types (forms) of property in Ukraine. Notion and types of civil contracts. Notion and types of civil responsibility. Notion of inheritance law/ succession law and inheritance. Testamentary succession and hereditary succession/ legal succession. Persons, who have no right on an inheritance. Notion and sources of civil law of Ukraine A civil law is the field of national law of Ukraine, system of legal norms, which regulate the personal non-property and property relations between natural and/or legal persons. The sources of civil law are: 1) The Constitution of Ukraine; 2) The Civil code of Ukraine; 3) laws of Ukraine; 4) acts of the President of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and acts of other public officers. The main document of civil law in Ukraine is the Civil code of Ukraine, which was accepted on the 16th of January in 2003 and which entered into the fors on the 1st of January in 2004. It consists of 6 books. Book 1. General positions. Book 2. Personal non-property rights of natural person. Book 3. Ownership and other material rights. Book 4. Law of intellectual ownership. Book 5. The obligation law. Book 6. Inheritance law. Notion and types of civil legal relations The subject of civil law is civil legal relations, which are divided into property and personal non-property relations. Property relations are connected with acquisition, possession and disposing of property. The personal non-property relations arise up on the basis of realization of the personal nonproperty rights, for example, for human dignity, honour, life, health, right on freedom of literary, artistic, scientific and technical creation etc. The personal rights are divided into: 1) personal rights, which are not connected with property, for example, right on name, honour, dignity; 2) personal rights, which are connected with property, for example, personal rights of authors in the field of literature, science, art etc.

The civil law uses the non-mandatory method of the legal regulation, when parties or sides of civil legal relations determine their behavior independently by themselves in measures, which are set by law. Civil legal relations consist of three elements: subject, object and contents. The subjects of civil legal relations are legally equal, have the separate property and free will. It is the special feature of civil legal relations. 3. Concept of right of ownership According to the legal conception/understanding a right of ownership is the system of legal norms, which regulate public relations, which arise up of appropriation, possession, user and disposing of property. According to the article 317 of the Civil code of Ukraine the proprietor has a right to possess, use and dispose of his/her property. It is content of right of ownership. A residence of proprietor and location of property do not influence to the right of owner to be the proprietor. A right to possess property is an actual presence of thing in proprietor. There are 2 types of possessionlegal and illegal. A right to use property is a right to get their useful properties from things. A right to dispose property is legal possibility to determinate legal or actual fate of thing by sale, exchange, destruction etc. 4. Types (forms) of property in Ukraine According to the Constitution of Ukraine there are such types (forms) of property, which are equal: 1) a property of ukrainian people are air space, natural resources etc; 2) a private property is property of natural persons (citizens, foreigners, persons without citizenship) and also property of non-state legal persons; 3) a national domain is property of Ukraine for implementation the functions of the state. The national domain is divided into national and communal (property of territorial communities of administrative-territorial units); 4) collective property is property of group of people. According to the Civil code of Ukraine there are such types of the right of ownership: - right of ownership of ukrainian people (article 324); - right of private ownership (article 325); - right of national domain (article 326); - right of communal ownership (article 327). 5. Notion and types of civil contracts A contract is an agreement (legal transaction) between two or more parties (sides), which establishes, changes or stops civil right and duties. The contract must be in accordance with requirements of law. In this case it is actual and has proper legal force. There are such types of contracts: 1) according to the term: for a fixed period and permanent; 2) according to the payment: payment and gratis; 3) according to the contents: contract of purchase-sale, contract of donation, contract of lease etc.; 4) according to the form of conclusion: verbal, in writing (simple written and notarial valid); 5) according to the division of rights and duties: unilateral (onesided), bilateral and multilateral;

6) according to the moment of acquisition of legal force: real and consensus. A contract is unilateral (onesided), if one side has the duty to do definite actions or restrain from them before the second side, and the second side has the right to require only, without the obligation before the first side. An agreement is bilateral, if both sides of contract have rights and duties. The real contracts are such contracts, which acquire a legal value only from the moment of actual transmission of thing from one side to another. Consensus contracts are contracts, which acquire a legal value from the moment of attainment of consent/agreement between sides in all substantial conditions. Substantial conditions are conditions, which are determined in law, and also conditions, on which parties (sides) insist. The notarial certification of the written contracts is obligatory, when it is obligatory in accordance with law. The Civil code of Ukraine characterizes more than 20 different types of contracts, for example: contract of purchase-sale, contract of lease, contract of debt (loan), contract of donation etc. 6. Notion and types of civil responsibility Civil responsibility is a type of legal responsibility of natural or legal person for contractual infliction, for property harm and violation of the personal non-property rights. Civil responsibility has such features: 1) property character; 2) compensative character (renewal of the broken property or personal non-property rights); 3) optional character for offenders, because, as a rule, a debtor are not relieved from fulfilment of liabilities. There are such types of civil responsibility: 1) contractual and non-contractual; 2) partial; 3) solidary (collective); 4) responsibility of main and additional debtor. Contractual responsibility comes as a result of breach of contract. Non-contractual responsibility comes for harm, when there are no contractual relations between offender and civil offence victim. Partial responsibility means that each of participants of contract responds in the limits of part, which is determined by law or contract. Solidary (collective) responsibility means that a creditor has right to hold responsible both debtors together or each of them separately, both fully or in part of debt. Responsibility of main and additional debtor foresees existence of main and additional debtor. When main debtor can not be responsible for damage, the additional debtor will be responsible. The main ground (reason) of civil responsibility is a presents of composition of civil offence in actions, which includes: 1) illegality of action; 2) presence of property harm or damage;

3) misdemeanour (guilt) of offenders; 4) causal connection between illegal actions and harmful consequences. Damage is the negative consequences for civil offence victim. There is a compensation of moral harm in civil law. Moral harm consists of: 1) the physical pain and suffering that a natural person received because of injury or other damage of health; 2) the mental suffering that a natural person received because of illegal conduct to her or him, her or him family or near relation; 3) the mental suffering that a natural person received because of destruction or damage of her or him property; 4) the humiliation of honour, dignity and also business reputation of natural or legal person. Responsibility of minors The minors under 14 are not responsible for the property harm. Their parents, adopters, guardians are responsible for the property harm. Minors in age from 14 to 18 are responsible for the harm on general grounds, compensate it themselves. If the minor in age from 14 to 18 has no money or property for the compensation of the harm, this harm is compensated by his or her parents or persons, who are replaced them. This duty of parents stops in case of attainment of minor full age or when property or earnings will be in measures, which are sufficient for the compensation of harm. 7. Notion of the inheritance law/ succession law and inheritance An inheritance law/ succession law is the system of civil legal rules, which regulates the order of inheritance. Inheritance is a transfer of rights and duties (legacy) from a natural person who died (testator) to the other persons (heirs). Inheritance is performed according to will or law. Inheritance includes all rights and duties, which belong to the testator at the moment of the opening of inheritance. Inheritance is opened only after death of natural persons, and only they can be testators. The inheritance is impossible between livings. Legal persons can not be testators, because, they do not die, legal persons go into liquidation. A right and duties, which are indissolubly related to the testator, can not be inheritance: 1) personal non-property rights; 2) a right on participating in societies and membership right in the associations of citizens, if other is not set by law or their constituent documents; 3) a right on the compensation of the harm, which was inflicted by injury or other damage of health; 4) rights on alimonies, pension, help or other payments, which are set by law; 5) right and duties person as a creditor or debtor. Time of the opening of inheritance is the day of death of the person or day from which she or he is declared as dead by court. The place of the opening of inheritance is the last residence of testator. 8. Testamentary succession and hereditary succession/ legal succession

There are 2 types of succession: 1) testamentary succession; 2) hereditary succession/ legal succession. Testamentary succession Testamentary succession is the type of succession, when there is a testament. A testament is the personal order of natural person in case of his or her death. A natural person with full civil legal capability has a right on a testament. A right on a testament is realized personally. It is impossible to realize this right through a representative. There are such conditions of reality of a testament: 1) a testament must be only in a writing form; 2) a person with full legal capability has a right for testament; 3) a testator signs a testament by him or herself, which is obligatory certificated (certified) by notary or public officers; 4) the content of testament must be in accordance with the requirements of law. If it will be set that a testator laid down a testament as a result of violence or threat or was forced to lay down it on the extremely unprofitable conditions for him or herself, a testament could be declared as ineffective in decision of court. A testator has a right at any time to abolish a testament or lay down new. A testament that was made later abolishes a previous testament fully or in that part in that the following contradicts previous. A testator can appoint as the heirs one or a few of natural persons, regardless of presence of family relations between testator and heirs. But the minor, adult disabled children of testator, disabled widow (widower) and disabled parents, inherit, regardless of content of testament, the half of the part, that would belong to each of them in case of legal succession (obligatory part). The married couple has a right to lay down a common testament in relation to the property that belongs to husband and wife on the right of common combined ownership. A testator has a right to connect the transition of rights with implementation of definite duties. Hereditary succession/ legal succession The Civil code of Ukraine regulates the order of legal succession. Hereditary succession can be: when there is no testament; when persons, who are heirs by testament, gave up of inheritance or died; if a testament is declared as ineffective in decision of court. Heirs on legal succession take an inheritance by turn. A civil legislation sets 5 turns of heirs. Children of testator, such husband or wife, who has outlived him or her and parents have a right on legal succession in the first turn. (Adult children and children, who had conceived in the time of life of testator and were born after his or her death). Brothers and sisters of testator, his or her grandmother and grandfather both from the side of father and from the side of mother have a right on legal succession in the second turn.

An uncle and an aunt of testator have a right on legal succession in the third turn. Persons, who lived with testator as one family no less as five years to time of opening of inheritance have a right on legal succession in the fourth turn. Other relatives of testator to the sixth degree of kinship have a right on legal succession in the fifth turn. Dependants of testator, who were not members of his or her family, have a right on legal succession in the fifth turn. There are such cases of legal succession by Ukraine: 1) if all heirs gave up of inheritance; 2) if there are no heirs neither testamentary succession, nor legal succession; 3) if all heirs were deprived of an inheritance; 4) if nobody of heirs accepted an inheritance. The heir has a right to accept an inheritance or not accept it. The heir has accepted an inheritance: if he actually entered into a management or in possessing the inherited property; if he handed to a notarial office at the place of opening of inheritance application about the acceptance of inheritance. The heirs during 6 months from the day of death of testator must write an application about the acceptance of inheritance in a notarial office. After 6 months from the day of death of testator the heirs get Certificate about the acceptance of inheritance. 9. Persons, who have no right on an inheritance According to the Civil code there are persons who have no right on an inheritance: 1) persons, who have deprived life of testator or somebody of possible heirs or have realized attempt upon their life willfully; 2) persons, who hindered to testator to lay down a testament, make alteration to it or to abolish a testament wilfully, when such actions promoted (assisted) to the origin of right on an inheritance for them or for other persons or the increase of their part in an inheritance; 3) parents after the child, when in relation to this child they were deprived paternal rights, and their rights were not renewed at the moment of opening of inheritance; 4) parents (adopters) and adult children (adopted), and also other persons, who avoided of implementation of duties to care about testator, if this circumstance was set by court; 5) persons one by one, when marriage between them is ineffective or declared as ineffective in decision of court; 6) in decision of court a person could be removed from a right on legal succession, if it will be set that such person avoided of help to testator, who because of old age, grave illness or physical injury was in the helpless position.