The latest judicial reform of 2017 has introduced several significant novels, particularly, the amended Code of Economic Procedure of Ukraine (hereinafter – CEP of Ukraine) of October 3, 2017 establishes the specifics of the procedural status of under-age individuals and persons whose civil capacity is limited. The purpose of the article is to study the status of under-age individuals in economic court proceedings, to identify the gaps in the regulation of this status and the prospects for improvement of the economic procedural legislation in terms of the issue under study. An analysis of changes to legislation aimed at expanding the jurisdiction (subject-matter jurisdiction) of cases for economic courts confirms that there is the need for legislative entrenchment of the status of individuals who are not entrepreneurs, including the persons who, for some reasons, do not have full legal capacity. There is a convincing position that a person for the sake of whom proceedings in a case are commenced to defend his/her rights, freedoms and interests should be recognized as plaintiff in the case, regardless of the level of procedural capacity which such a person is entitled to. In cases involving an under-age individual, or if during consideration of a case a court finds that the decision in this case will affect the rights, interests and (or) establish the obligations of under-age individuals, the court should assume an active position and take additional actions to protect the rights of such persons. The author proves that it would be expedient to allocate in the structure of the current CEP of Ukraine a separate chapter titled “Consideration by court of cases with participation of minors, under-age persons, legally incapable individuals and persons with limited civil capacity”, and this chapter should determine certain specific features of consideration of economic cases involving the mentioned persons. The author offers to incorporate into part 3, Art. 44 of the CEP of Ukraine the provision that if one of the parties to a case is an under-age person or a person with limited civil capacity, a court should invite a legal representative of such a person to participation in this case. And if legal representatives or the bodies authorized by law to protect the rights, freedoms and interests of such a person do not exercise or improperly exercise protection of the person concerned, prosecutor should be involved in the case. It seems appropriate to incorporate into the CEP of Ukraine the provision stipulating the impossibility of entering into settlement agreements in cases involving as one of the parties a minor, an under-age person, a legally incapable individual and a person whose civil capacity is limited.

List of legal documents 
 

Legislation 
1. Deklaratsiia prav dytyny [Declaration of the Rights of the Child] vid 20 lystopada 1959 r. URL: http://zakon5.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/995_384 (accessed: 12.06.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
2. Konventsiia pro prava dytyny [Convention on the Rights of the Child] vid 20 lystopada 1989 r. URL: http://zakon3.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/995_021 (accessed: 12.06.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
3. Pro prokuraturu [On Public Prosecution]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 14 zhovtnia 2014 r. № 1697-VII. URL: http://zakon3.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1697-18 (accessed: 12.06.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
4. Pro vnesennia zmin do deiakykh zakonodavchykh aktiv Ukrainy shchodo vyznachennia pidsudnosti sprav z pytan pryvatyzatsii ta z korporatyvnykh sporiv [On Amending Some Legislative Acts of Ukraine Concerning Determination of Subject-Matter Jurisdiction of Privatization and Corporate Disputes Cases]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 15 hrudnia 2006 r. № 483-V. URL: http://zakon2.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/483-16 (accessed: 12.06.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
5. Pro vnesennia zmin do deiakykh zakonodavchykh aktiv Ukrainy shchodo protydii protypravnomu pohlynanniu ta zakhoplenniu pidpryiemstv [On Amending Some Legislative Acts of Ukraine Concerning Counteraction to Illegal Takeover and Seizure of Enterprises]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 17 lystopada 2009 r. № 1720-VI. URL: http://zakon5.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1720-17 (accessed: 12.06.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
6. Pro vnesennia zmin do Hospodarskoho protsesualnoho kodeksu Ukrainy, Tsyvilnoho protsesualnoho kodeksu Ukrainy, Kodeksu administratyvnoho sudochynstva Ukrainy ta inshykh zakonodavchykh aktiv [On Amending the Code of Economic Procedure of Ukraine, the Code of Civil Procedure of Ukraine, the Code of Administrative Court Proceedings of Ukraine and Other Legislative Acts of Ukraine]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 3 zhovtnia 2017 r. № 2147-VIII. URL: http://zakon5.rada.gov. ua/laws/show/2147-19 (accessed: 12.06.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
 

Bibliography 
 

Edited and translated books 
7. Pukhan I i Polenak-Akimovskaya M, Rimskoe pravo (bazovyy uchebnik) [Roman Law (Basic Textbook)] (per s makedonskogo V Tomsinova i Yu Filippova, red V Tomsinova, Zertsalo 2003) (in Russian). 

Journal articles 
8. Kochura A, ‘Otdel’nye aspekty pravovogo instituta predstavitel’stva nesovershennoletnikh poterpevshikh v ugolovnom protsesse Ukrainy: istoriya i sovremennost’’ [‘Some Aspects of the Legal Institute of Under-Age Victims Representation in the Criminal Process of Ukraine: History and Our Times’] (2014) Legea si viata Aprilie 11 (in Russian). 
9. Tereshchuk H, ‘Sutnist predstavnytstva prokuraturoiu interesiv ditei v sudi’ [‘The Essence of Representation of Child’s Interests in Court by the Prosecutor’s Office’] [2013] 6-2(2) Naukovyi visnyk Mizhnarodnoho humanitarnoho universytetu. Ser.: Yurysprudentsiia 42 (in Ukrainian). 

Thesis abstracts 
10. Kondratieva L, ‘Sudovyi zakhyst nepovnolitnikh osib u tsyvilnomu protsesi Ukrainy’ [‘Judicial Protection of Under-Age Individuals in Civil Proceedings in Ukraine’] (avtoref dys kand yuryd nauk, Instytut derzhavy i prava imeni V M Koretskoho NAN Ukrainy 2006) (in Ukrainian). 
11. Romaniuk A, ‘Problemy zakhystu nepovnolitnikh u kryminalnomu sudochynstvi’ [‘Issues of Under-Age Individuals Protection in Criminal Proceedings’] (avtoref dys kand yuryd nauk, Nats yuryd akad Ukrainy im Ya Mudroho 2004) (in Ukrainian).