The Verkhovna Rada has passed the new Civil Code at its first reading
This information was revealed in the bill’s summary on the parliament’s website.
Ruslan Stefanchuk, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada and one of the bill’s initiators, stated that the bill would undergo significant changes before the second reading.
“A large number of amendments will be introduced into the bill before the second reading, taking into account comments and criticism,” he noted.
At the same time, parliament did not support the proposal to extend the deadline for preparing the document for the second reading. The draft law provides for the recodification of civil legislation – a comprehensive update of private law provisions based on the current Civil and Family Codes and the Law “On International Private Law”.
The new code will consist of nine interrelated books and is intended to be a coherent and internally consistent piece of legislation.
Key innovations include:
- national custom, the customs of national minorities and local acts of legal entities are included among the sources of law;
- the principle of the prohibition of contradictory conduct has been introduced;
- the list of personal rights of natural and legal persons has been expanded;
- new types of limited property rights have been introduced;
- approaches to liability in civil law have been clarified;
- provision has been made for the inheritance of digital assets and the right to reparations;
- the possibility of making a will regarding reproductive biological material has been introduced.
Separately, the draft provides for a new book on the publicity of civil rights, which regulates the registration of rights, encumbrances and legal facts.
It is expected that the adoption of the new code will modernise private law regulation, enhance legal certainty and improve the effectiveness of rights protection.
The current Civil Code of Ukraine was adopted in 2003. Since then, it has been amended on several occasions, but the need for a systematic update of civil legislation has been under discussion for several years. The new code is intended to adapt the law to modern economic and technological conditions.
