The article aims at investigating into the issues pertaining to civil liability of the State and legal entities established by it in private relations. Civil legislation contains one of the basic principles ensuing from the method of regulation under civil law – legal equality of participants in private relations. By legal equality it is meant that each of the parties to civil relations has its own set of rights and obligations and is independent, not subordinate to the other one. The State as a party to civil legal relations has a universal legal personality, which it exercises through the system of its bodies and legal entities under public and private law. The purpose of the article is to analyze special aspects of civil liability of the State and legal entities under public and private law established by it. The criterion for determining the status of a public authority as a person subject to law is the procedure of occurrence and the presence of power authorizations necessary for the exercise of functions prescribed by statutory enactments. Legal entities under public and private law established by the State are stand-alone participants of civil commerce. Public authorities in civil law relations are the same persons subject to private law. Therefore, it is crucial to establish the subject and the extent of liability in relations involving public authorities and legal entities established by them. For this purpose, the legislator in statutory enactments should detail the legal status of public authorities and legal entities established by public authorities. In this context, certain prerequisites should be taken into account. These include: 1) legislative definition of the legal status of public authorities; 2) establishment of their competence as a regulator of social relations; 3) functional powers and responsibilities; 4) ability to be an independent subject of civil liability. The author establishes that specific features of a public authority’s legal personality in civil liability relations comprise: 1) establishing of circumstances which entail property liability; 2) establishing whether actions of public authorities are legally justified; 3) defining the extent of property liability; 4) prohibition to apply certain penal sanctions to public authorities. Civil liability measures should be applied for the same reasons to any subject of private relations. For this purpose, the legislation should change the approach delimiting liability of public authorities and legal entities established by them. In civil relations, if necessary, subsidiary property liability should be borne by public authorities for obligations of legal entities established under the regulatory procedure.

List of legal documents 

Legislation 
1. Konstytutsiia Ukrainy [The Constitution of Ukraine]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 28 chervnia 1996 r. № 254k/96-VR (accessed: 16.11.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
2. Podatkovyi kodeks Ukrainy [The Tax Code of Ukraine]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 2 hrudnia 2010 r. № 2755 (accessed: 16.11.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
3. Pro Kabinet Ministriv Ukrainy [On the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 27 liutoho 2014 r. № 794 (accessed: 16.11.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
4. Pro poriadok vidshkoduvannia shkody, zavdanoi hromadianynovi nezakonnymy diiamy orhaniv, shcho zdiisniuiut operatyvno-rozshukovu diialnist, orhaniv dosudovoho rozsliduvannia, prokuratury i sudu [On the Procedure for Reimbursement of the Damage to a Citizen Resulting from Illegal Actions of Bodies of Pretrial Investigation Inquiry, Prosecution and Court]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 1 hrudnia 1994 r. № 266 (accessed: 16.11.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
5. Pro upravlinnia obiektamy derzhavnoi vlasnosti [On the State Property Management]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 21 veresnia 2006 r. № 185 (accessed: 16.11.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
6. Pro vidnovlennia platospromozhnosti borzhnyka abo vyznannia yoho bankrutom [On Restoring the Debtor’s Solvency or Declaring It Bankrupt]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 14 travnia 1992 r. № 2343 (accessed: 16.11.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
7. Pro vnesennia zmin do deiakykh zakoniv Ukrainy shchodo osoblyvostei finansovoho kontroliu okremykh katehorii posadovykh osib [On Amendments to Some Laws of Ukraine on Specific Aspects of Financial Control of Separate Categories of Officials]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 23 bereznia 2017 r. № 1975 (accessed: 16.11.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
8. Pro vvedennia moratoriiu na prymusovu realizatsiiu maina [On Introduction of the Moratorium on Compulsory Sale of Property]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 29 lystopada 2001 r. № 2864 <http://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2864-14> (accessed: 16.11.2018) (in Ukrainian).
9. Pro zakhyst ekonomichnoi konkurentsii [On the Protection of Economic Competition]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 11 sichnia 2001 r. № 2210 (accessed: 16.11.2018) (in Ukrainian).
10. Pro zbilshennia statutnoho kapitalu publichnoho aktsionernoho tovarystva “Derzhavnyi oshchadnyi bank Ukrainy” ta vnesennia zmin do yoho Statutu [On Increasing of the Authorized Capital of Public Joint Stock Company “The State Savings Bank of Ukraine” and Amending of its Charter]: postanova Kabinetu Ministriv Ukrainy [Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine] vid 6 bereznia 2017 r. № 122 (accessed: 16.11.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
11. Tsyvilnyi kodeks Ukrainy [The Civil Code of Ukraine]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 16 sichnia 2003 r. № 435 (accessed: 16.11.2018) (in Ukrainian). 

Bibliography 

Edited books 
12. Bezklubyi I (red), Vidpovidalnist u pryvatnomu pravi: monohrafia [Liability in Private Law: Monograph] (Hramota 2014) (in Ukrainian). 
13. Kuznietsova N, ‘Formirovanie i ukreplenie chastnopravovyh osnov grazhdanskogo obshhestva v Ukraine’ [Formation and Strengthening of Private Law Foundations of Civil Society in Ukraine’] v Maidanyk R (red), Almanakh tsyvylystyky, vyp 6 (Pravova yednist 2015) (in Russian). 

Journal articles 
14. Maidanyk R, ‘Tsyvilne pravo yak sfera pryvatnoho prava Ukrainy’ [‘Civil Law as a Domain of Private Law of Ukraine’] (2013) 1 Pryvatne pravo 65-80 (in Ukrainian).