The article investigates how the contractual obligations to provide services have developed in national law, makes their historical and legal analysis and focuses on the further development of legal regulation of relations involving providing services.

The article also identifies the legislative approaches to the procedure of entering into service contract and highlights the specific aspects emerging when such contracts are entered into. The purpose of the article is to analyze and characterize the obligations to provide services, their historical development and prospects.

The author elaborates on the correlation of the obligations involving providing services or performance of works, establishes the criteria for distinguishing between these groups of contractual obligations, makes an analysis and characterizes the service contract as a type of contracts. The author proposes to identify the general signs typical for all of the contractual obligations as a separate group which mediates service providing: 1) activities of the service provider do not create a tangible result; 2) the executor does not guarantee that the intended result will be achieved; 3) current legislation does not prescribe how the customer nay control the process of service providing by the executor to the client, although such control is possible subject to mutual consent of the parties expressed in particular terms of the contract; 4) consumption of an intermediary service occurs in the process of its providing. The article aims at making a theoretical generalization and finding a new solution to the scientific task which involves making a comprehensive research of contractual service providing obligations and, on this basis, forming theoretical conclusions and practical proposals on improvement of civil legislation of Ukraine.

The author comes to the conclusion that there is a need to revise the legal and regulatory approach to the procedure of entering into civil-law contracts in general and service contracts in particular, and also to back off from the administrative planning acts as the basis for these contracts.

The author notes that it is the service contract that performs an important function of establishing legal relations between potential counterparties, determines the procedure for and the sequence of service providing by the executor and settlements for the delivered services by the client. The author focuses on the problematic issues still remaining in the science of civil law, particularly, such as entering into the contract for services from the State budget, the quality of services, liability for improper providing services, and also the issue of collecting payments for the so-called executing services.

List of legal documents

Legislation

1. Pro zakhyst prav spozhyvachiv [On Consumer Rights Protection]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 1 hrudnia 2005 r. № 3161. Vidomosti Verkhovnoi Rady Ukrainy. 2006. № 7. St. 84 (in Ukrainian).

2. Pro zhytlovo-komunalni posluhy [On Housing and Public Utility Services]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 9 lystopada 2017 r. № 2189-VIII <https://zakon.rada. gov.ua/laws/show/2189-19> (accessed: 01.02.2019) (in Ukrainian).

3. Tsyvilnyi kodeks Ukrainskoi RSR [The Civil Code of the Ukrainian SSR] vid 18 lypnia 1963 r. Vidomosti Verkhovnoi Rady URSR. 1963. № 30. St. 463 (in Ukrainian).

4. Tsyvilnyi kodeks Ukrainy [The Civil Code of Ukraine]: Zakon Ukrainy [the Law of Ukraine] vid 16 sichnia 2003 r. № 435-IV <https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/435-15> (accessed: 01.02.2019) (in Ukrainian). Bibliography

Authored books

5. Braginskij M, Dogovor podrjada i podobnye emu dogovora [Work and Labor Contract and Similar Contracts] (Statut 1999) (in Russian).

6. Fedorchenko N, Dohovirni zobov’iazannia z nadannia posluh: problemy teorii i praktyky [Contractual Obligations to Provide Service: Issues of Theory and Practice] (NDI pryvatnoho prava i pidpryiemnytstva NAPrN Ukrainy 2015) (in Ukrainian).

7. Jakovlev V, Grazhdansko-pravovoj dogovor v sfere obsluzhivanija [Civil-Law Contract in the Service Sector] (Nauka 1980) (in Russian).

8. Krotov V, Objazatel’stva po okazaniju uslug v sovetskom grazhdanskom prave [Obligations on Rendering of Services in Soviet Civil Law] (1990) (in Russian).

9. Luts V, Kontrakty v pidpryiemnytskii diialnosti: navchalnyi posibnyk [Contracts in Business: Study Guide] (Iurinkom Inter 2008) (in Ukrainian).

10. Romanec Ju, Sistema dogovorov v grazhdanskom prave Rossii [System of Contracts in Civil Law of Russia] (Jurist’ 2006) (in Russian).

11. Zozuliak O, Realizatsiia tsyvilnoi pravosub’iektnosti yurydychnykh osib u dohovirnii formi [Implementation of Civil Legal Personality of Legal Entities in a Contractual Form] (Nova zoria 2012) (in Ukrainian). Edited and translated books

12. Antimonov B i drugie, Otdel’nye vidy objazatel’stv. Kurs sovetskogo grazhdanskogo prava [Separate Types of Obligations. A Course of Soviet Civil Law] (Grave K i Novitskiy I pod red, Gosjurizdat 1954) (in Russian).

13. Kabalkin Ju, ‘Uslugi v grazhdanskom prave’ [‘Services in Civil Law’] v Sbornik nauchnykh trudov, posvyashchennykh pamyati V. A. Ryasentseva [Collected Scientific Papers Dedicated to the Memory of V. A. Riasentsev] (MGJuA 1995) (in Russian).

14. Kabatov V, ‘Vozmezdnoe okazanie uslug’ [‘Service Providing on a Paid Basis’] v Grazhdanskij kodeks Rossijskoj Federacii [The Civil Code of the Russian Federation], chast’ 2 Tekst. Kommentarii. Alfavitno-predmetnyj ukazatel’ [Text. Commentaries. Alphabetical Index] (1996) (in Russian).

15. Sakaje Vagacuma, Grazhdanskoe pravo Japonii [Civil Law of Japan], kn 2 (Progress 1983) (in Russian).

16. Saniakhmetova N ta inshi, Tsyvilnyi kodeks Ukrainy (naukovo-praktychnyi komentar) [The Civil Code of Ukraine (Scientific and Practical Commentary)] (Saniakhmetova N ta inshi vidp red, Odissei 2000) (in Ukrainian).

17. Suhanov E (red), Grazhdanskoe pravo [Civil Law], t 2 (BEK 1994) (in Russian).

18. Tzcuo Sato (pod obshh red), Liho A (per s angl), Torgovyj kodeks Japonii [The Commercial Code of Japan] (Mikap 1993) (in Russian).

Journal articles

19. Hryniak A, ‘Osoblyvosti rozmezhuvannia dohovoriv pidriadu ta dohovoriv iz nadannia posluh’ [‘Specific Aspects of Differentiating between Work and Labor Contracts and Service Contracts’] (2012) 4 Pidpryiemnytstvo, hospodarstvo i pravo 18-20 (in Ukrainian).

Dissertations

20. Heints R, ‘Tsyvilno-pravove rehuliuvannia vidnosyn za dohovorom pro nadannia komunalnykh posluh’ [‘Civil-Law Regulation of Relations under the Contract for Public Utility Services’] (dys kand yuryd nauk, Prykarpatskyi natsionalnyi universytet imeni Vasylia Stefanyka 2011) (in Ukrainian).

21. Hryniak A, ‘Dohovirni zobov’iazannia z vykonannia robit u tsyvilnomu pravi Ukrainy’ [‘Contractual Obligations of Work Performance in Civil Law of Ukraine’] (dys d-ra yuryd nauk, Kharkivskyi natsionalnyi universytet imeni V N Karazina 2013) (in Ukrainian).

22. Luts A, ‘Svoboda dohovoru v tsyvilnomu pravi Ukrainy’ [‘Freedom of Contract in Civil Law of Ukraine’] (dys kand yuryd nauk, Kyiv nats un-t im T Shevchenka 2001) (in Ukrainian).