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Article Principles of the Institution of Property Rights Call for Additional Legislative Guarantees
Authors OLEKSANDR DZERA
Name of magazine Legal journal «Law of Ukraine» (Ukrainian version)
Issue 1 / 2019
Pages 75 - 92
Annotation

The article highlights the determinative legal foundations ensuring the efficient implementation of the norms of the ownership right as an institution, the principles of inviolability, in particular the principles of ownership right inviolability, presumption of legality of ownership right acquisition, establishment of the legal regime of ownership only by law, equality of protection of the rights held by each subject of the ownership right, etc. The author maintains that, in general, the norms of the ownership right as an institution ensure that owners exercise the rights of possession and use of property which they own, as enshrined in the Constitution and other laws of Ukraine. The analysis of the Ukrainian legislation regarding property gives grounds for making a conclusion that it is consistent with the provisions of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The article also analyzes the problems arising as a result of practical application of current legislation, as well as certain gaps and contradictions present in it, with a special focus on the legal policy of confiscation. It is noted that Article 354 of the Civil Code of Ukraine (Ukraine’s CC), which prescribes deprivation of the ownership right to property by a court decision as a sanction for a committed offense (confiscation), is actually lacking real content and action since it does not define specific grounds for imposing of “property confiscation under civil law”. The author emphasizes that Article 59 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Ukraine’s CrC), while providing for property confiscation as a penal measure, lacks certainty regarding the specific extent of property confiscation allowing to confiscate property. The article gives a positive assessment to the provision contained in Article 962 ofUkraine’s CrC establishing that special confiscation shall not apply to the targets of crime and instruments of crime which should be returned to their bona fide owners (legal owners), and at the same time, the author criticizes Article 100 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine which provides for confiscation of property of a person convictedfor a corruption offense if the court is unable to confirm the legality of grounds upon which the rights to such property are acquired, as it is contrary to Article 328 of the Civil Code of Ukraine which establishes the presumption of legality with regard to the ownership right acquired by a person. The author challenges the provision of Art. 465 of the Ukrainian Customs Code which provides for confiscation of goods, vehicles in case of violation of customs rules even if they are the property of a person who didn’t commit an offense. The author comes to the conclusion that the anti-corruption legislation does not contain sufficient guarantees for a proper protection of the rights of owners. Thus, the author suggests that a reservation may be incorporated to Article 387 of the Civil Code of Ukraine to the effect that the owner shall be entitled to reclaim the property which was the instrument of crime or the contraband item, if it was used contrary to such person’s will. The article points to significant drawbacks of editorial and substantive nature in the updated Article 228 of Ukraine’s CC which provides for property confiscation under civil law in case of an anti-public transaction, and notes the need for its radical reform. The author proves that there is an inconsistency between requirements of the Constitution of Ukraine, the Civil Code of Ukraine and provisions of Art. 17 of the Law of Ukraine “On the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine” which establishes the right to file a legal action for invalidation of transactions and grants this right to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and to any of its employees working under an employment contract. 

Keywords ownership; property right; inviolability of property right; confiscation; special confiscation
References

List of legal documents 

Legislation 
1. Hospodarskyi kodeks Ukrainy [The Economic Code of Ukraine]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 16 sichnia 2003 r. № 436-IV (accessed: 24.12.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
2. Konstytutsiia Ukrainy [The Constitution of Ukraine]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 28 chervnia 1996 r. № 254k/96-VR (accessed: 24.12.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
3. Kryminalnyi kodeks Ukrainy [The Criminal Code of Ukraine]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 5 kvitnia 2001 r. № 2341-III (accessed: 24.12.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
4. Kryminalnyi protsesualnyi kodeks Ukrainy [Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 13 kvitnia 2012 r. № 4651-VI (accessed: 24.12.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
5. Mytnyi kodeks Ukrainy [The Customs Code of Ukraine]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 13 bereznia 2012 r. № 4495-VI (accessed: 24.12.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
6. Pro vidchuzhennia zemelnykh dilianok, inshykh ob’iektiv nerukhomoho maina, shcho na nykh rozmishcheni, yaki perebuvaiut u pryvatnii vlasnosti dlia suspilnykh potreb chy z motyviv suspilnoi neobkhidnosti [On Alienation of Privately Owned Land Plots and Other Real Property Located Thereon for Public Needs or for Reasons of Social Necessity]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 17 lystopada 2009 r. № 1559-VI (accessed: 24.12.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
7. Pro zapobihannia koruptsii [The Prevention of Corruption]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 14 zhovtnia 2014 r. № 1700-VII (accessed: 24.12.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
8. Pro zastavu [On Pledge]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 2 zhovtnia 1992 r. № 2654-XII (accessed: 24.12.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
9. Pro ipoteku [On Mortgage]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 5 chervnia 2003 roku № 898-IV (accessed: 24.12.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
10. Pro Natsionalne antykoruptsiine biuro Ukrainy [On the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 14 zhovtnia 2014 r. № 1698-VII (accessed: 24.12.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
11. Protokol do Konventsii pro zakhyst prav liudyny i osnovopolozhnykh svobod [Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms] vid 20 bereznia 1952 r. (accessed: 24.12.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
12. Tsyvilnyi kodeks Ukrainy [The Civil Code of Ukraine]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 16 sichnia 2003 r. № 435-IV (accessed: 24.12.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
13. Tsyvilnyi kodeks Ukrainskoi RSR [The Civil Code of the Ukrainian SSR]: Zakon URSR [the Law of SSR] vid 18 lypnia 1963 r. № 1540-VI (accessed: 24.12.2018) (in Ukrainian).

Cases 
14. Analiz deiakykh pytan zastosuvannia sudamy zakonodavstva pro pravo vlasnosti pry rozghliadi tsyvilnykh sprav [Analysis of Some Aspects of Application by Courts of Legislation Regarding Ownership Right in Civil Cases] (accessed: 24.12.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
15. Pro deiaki pytannia zastosuvannia polozhen punktu 13 chastyny pershoi statti 17 Zakonu Ukrainy “Pro Natsionalne antykoruptsiine biuro Ukrainy” [On Some Aspects of Application of Provisions Contained in Clause 13, Part One, Article 17 of the Law of Ukraine “On the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine”:]: informatsiinyi lyst Vyshchoho hospodarskoho sudu Ukrainy [Information Letter of the High Economic Court of Ukraine] vid 27 bereznia 2017 r. № 01-06/680/17 (accessed: 24.12.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
16. Pro sudovu praktyku v spravakh pro zakhyst prava vlasnosti ta inshykh rechovykh prav: postanova plenum Vyshchoho spetsializovanoho sudu Ukrainy z rozghliadu tsyvilnykh i kryminalnykh sprav [On Ownership Right and Other Rights in Rem Protection Case Law: Resolution of the Plenum of the High Specialized Court of Ukraine for Civil and Criminal Cases] vid 7 liutoho 2014 r. № 5 (accessed: 24.12.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
17. Rishennia Konstytutsiinoho Sudu Ukrainy u spravi za konstytutsiinym podanniam Upovnovazhenoho Verkhovnoi Rady Ukrainy z prav liudyny shchodo vidpovidnosti Konstytutsii Ukrainy (konstytutsiinosti) abzatsu vosmoho punktu 5 chastyny pershoi statti 11 Zakonu Ukrainy “Pro militsiiu” [Decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in the Case Following the Constitutional Submission of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine’s Commissioner for Human Rights Concerning the Compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine (Constitutionality) of Paragraph Eight, Clause 5, Part One, Article 11 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Militia”] vid 29 chervnia 2010 r. № 17-рп/2010 (accessed: 24.12.2018) (in Ukrainian). 

Bibliography

Journal articles 
18. Kuznecova N, ‘Nedejstvitel’nost’ sdelok (k voprosu ob antisocial’nyh sdelkah i posledstvijah ih sovershenija)’ [‘Invalidity of Transactions (More on Antisocial Transactions and Their Implications)’] v Majdanik R (red), Al’manah civilistiki: sbornik statej [Almanac of Civil Law: a Collection of Articles], vyp 4 (Alerta: CUL 2011) (in Russian).

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