Law of Ukraine

Ukraine is a civil law country. Laws are written down, the application of customary law is the exception and the role of case law is small in theory although in practice it is impossible to understand the law in many fields without also taking into account the relevant case law. The Ukrainian system of law is based on the French Code Civil with influences from Roman Law and traditional Ukrainian customary law. The new civil law books (which went into force in 2004) were heavily influenced by the German Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch.

The primary law making body is formed by the Ukrainian parliament ("Verkhovna Rada"). It is commonly referred to as the legislature ( _uk. zakonodatel). The power to make sub laws can be delegated to lower governments or specific organs of the State, but only for a prescribed purpose. A trend in recent years has been for parliament and the government to create "framework laws" and delegate the creation of detailed rules to ministers or lower governments (e.g. a province or municipality).

The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine is the main institution when it comes to Ukrainian law.

Areas of law

The domain of Ukrainian law is commonly divided in the following areas:

*Public Law
*Private Law
*International Lawwhich are subdivided (branched) into:

* Civil law (including Family law, Inheritance law, Contract law and Commercial law, Law of Obligations, Property law,Companies law,Land law )
* Criminal law, Penal Law
* Constitutional law (including laws on the structure of the state)
* Administrative law
* International law

Civil law

Civil law is the domain of law that regulates the everyday life of persons and other legal entities (such as corporations). The main code of Ukrainian civil law is the Civil Code of Ukraine.

Criminal law

Criminal law deals with the prosecution and punishment of criminal offenses. The main code is the Criminal Code of Ukraine.There is no capital punishment in Ukraine. The maximum criminal punishment in Ukraine is life imprisonment which could be reduced by President of Ukraine decree to 25 years of imprisonment after 20 years of sentence service.Once per year Parliament of Ukraine reduces sentences of different categories of imprisoned persons by adopting a special law (amnesty, amnistija).

Constitutional law

Constitutional law involves itself with the constitution and the structure of Ukraine. It involves the powers of democratic institutions, the organization of elections and the divisions of powers between central government and local authorities. See also the article on the Constitution of Ukraine. An interesting aspect of Ukrainian constitutional law is that only Constitutional Court of Ukraine is allowed to determine the constitutionality of laws created by the legislature (the parliament ).

Administrative law

Administrative law is the area of law that regulates the operation of the various levels of government and the way persons and legal entities can appeal decisions of the government. The main code of Ukrainian administrative law is the Administrative Code of Ukraine.

International law

International law (a.k.a. the law of nations) involves the application of international laws (mostly laid down in treaties) in Ukraine. The Ukrainian constitution contains a clause that allows the direct application of most international laws in Ukrainian courts. The laws that regulate jurisdiction and applicable law in cases with an international aspect (e.g. because parties come from different countries) are not part of international law but form a specific branch of civil law.

Types of corporations in Ukraine

* TOV (Товариство з обмеженою відповідальністю, ТОВ) - Ukrainian "Limited liability company"
* TDV (Товариство з додатковою відповідальністю, ТДВ) - Ukrainian "Additional liability company"
* ZAT (Закрите акцiонерне товариство, ЗАТ) - Ukrainian "Private joint-stock company"
* VAT (Вiдкрите акцiонерне товариство, ВАТ) - Ukrainian "Public joint-stock company"

Legal Liabilities in Ukraine

*Constitutional liability is imposed on President or Deputy [Member of Parliament] by Parliament of Ukraine
*Criminal liability is imposed by local court in form of sentencing
*Civil liability is imposed by local court in form of decision
*Administrative liability is imposed by administrative court in form of decision
*Disciplinary liability is imposed by superior official or specially created organization such as for

Judges is imposed by Regional (Oblast) Qualification Commission of Judges.

Lawyers is imposed by Regional (Oblast) Commission of Lawyers.

Notaries is imposed by Regional (Oblast) Commission of Notaries.

Public prosecutor is imposed by Superior official.

Policemen is imposed by Superior official.

Legal Codes of Ukraine

Short description in English language of every Code one can find on official website (http://www.rada.gov.ua) of the Parliament of Ukraine (Verkhovna Rada) and on * [http://www.welcometo.kiev.ua Yaroslav the Wise Institute of Legal Information]

*Civil Code of Ukraine
*Criminal Code of Ukraine
*Family Code of Ukraine
*Labour Code of Ukraine
*Land Code of Ukraine
*Water Code of Ukraine
*Natural Resources Code of Ukraine
*Administrative Code of Ukraine
*Budget Code of Ukraine
*Forestry Code of Ukraine
*Customs Code of Ukraine
*Maritime Code of Ukraine
*Housing Code of Ukraine
*Business code of Ukraine
*Air transportation Code of Ukraine
*Tax Code of Ukraine, pending

*Civil Procedure Code
*Criminal Procedure Code
*Administrative procedure Code
*Business Arbitration Code
*Prisons Code

Courts system in Ukraine

Courts in Ukraine are divided on
* by jurisdiction on constitutional court , general (criminal and civil matters)courts, economic courts, administrative courts and
* by territory on regional (appellate courts - 24, each in every oblast) and local (trial) courts.

*Constitutional Court of Ukraine, Kiev city - 18 judges,appointed for 9 years

*Supreme Court of Ukraine, Kiev city
**Apellate Court in every regional oblast city
**Local Court in every city,town, raion(Subdivision of oblast)

*High Administrative Court of Ukraine, Kiev city
**Local Administrative Court in every administrative district,usually oblast city

*High Economic Court of Ukraine, Kiev city
**Local Economic Court in every administrative district,usually oblast city

Military court
*In every Apellate Court in every regional oblast city

Tertiary Court created in accordance to the law "On Tertary Court" and registered in Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.

To become a judge in Ukraine one has to be 25 years old. First time judges are appointed by President of Ukraine for 5 years after that judges are elected for life (read appointed) by Parliament. Judges are not elected by people as it is done in many western countries and judicial branch of power in Ukraine is not completely independent. To detain or arrest judge special permission of the Parliament of Ukraine is needed. Judges in Ukraine have special protection of the State. As of 2007 there were 6000 judges in Ukraine out of 8000 existing positions.

See also
*Judicial system of Ukraine

Law schools in Ukraine

Law degree - jurist(same as LL.M) is awarded in Ukraine after 5 years of study in University such as

*Kiev National University of Economics,Kiev city* [http://kneu.kiev.ua]
*National Taras Shevchenko University of Kiev,Kiev city* [http://www.univ.kiev.ua]
*Yaroslav the Wise National Law Academy of Ukraine ,Kharkiv city* [http://www.uracad.kharkiv.edu]
*National Law Academy,Odessa city* [http://onua.edu.ua/odessa/eng/main.htm]
*Lviv University* [http://www.lnu.edu.ua/indexe.html]

Law academic degree in Ukraine

Law academic degree in Ukraine is Candidate of Science of Jurisprudence,CSJ and Doctor of Science of Jurisprudence,DSJ same as Doctor of the Science of Law (L.Sc.D.)
Diploma is awarded after the successful defense of dissertation (thesis) by the Higher Attestation Commission (VAK)(http://www.vak.org.ua). Full text of all defended dissertations are kept in National Library of Ukraine,Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine.

Fields of study

Scientific degrees awarded by VAK are classified into an established list of specialties, grouped into the following major sections

12 Fields of law study

12.00.01 Theory of Law

12.00.02 Constitutional Law

12.00.03 Civil Law

12.00.04 Economic Law

12.00.05 Labor Law

12.00.06 Land Law

12.00.07 Administrative Law, Finance Law

12.00.08 Criminal Law

12.00.09 Criminal procedure

12.00.10 Court system

12.00.11 International law

12.00.12 Philosophy of Law

Database of all Doctor of Science of Jurisprudence, CSJ is maintained by the Ministry of Education of Ukraine

University docents

A docent of a university is one who has the right to teach. Qualifications: one dissertation (CSJ) and demonstrating the competence of conducting scientific research independently.

University professor

A professor of a university is one who has the right to teach. Qualifications: one dissertation doctoral degree (DSJ) and demonstrating the competence of conducting scientific research independently.

The title Academician denotes a Full Member scientific academy."Academician" denote a full member of the National academy of Sciences of Law. There also exists a lower-rank title, variously translated Corresponding Member or Associate Member of the National academy of Sciences of Law [http://www.aprnu.kharkiv.org]

LL.M. Related Links

* [http://www.abanet.org/legaled/postjdprograms/postjd.html American Bar Association (ABA): Overview of Post-J.D. Programs in the U.S.]
* [http://www.llmstudy.com/ LLM Study: Global database of LLM programme]
* [http://www.llm-guide.com LLM-Guide: LLM Programs worldwide] .
* [http://llm.uniiks.com LLM.uniiks: LLM global database] .
*Candidate of Law
* [http://www.llm.law.edu http://llm.law.edu] .

Lawyers and Law firms in Ukraine

Law is practiced in Ukraine by jurists who were awarded diploma after graduation from university and by associations of jurists who register it as a law firm in Ministry of Justice.

In order to defend a person charged with criminal offence jurist has to have
*certificate of advocate issued by regional qualification commission or
*power of attorney letter. There are 27 regional qualification commissions each in every region (oblast) and one in Kiev city and Sevastopol city.

List of lawyers (Advocates) is kept and published by Regional (Oblast) Qualification Commission. These lawyers in most cases are appointed by Regional Qualification Commission to defend poor people accused of crimes and are paid fees regulated and set by the state.

List of lawyers working based on power of attorney letter (contract between lawyer and client)is published in advertisements of local newspapers. This is most wide practice in Ukraine.These lawyers are considered most experienced and less expansive.

List of law firms is kept and published on official website of Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.

List of Law Firms by city

*KievKonnov & Sozanovsky [http://www.konnov.com]

*KhersonOlsha law firm [http://khersonlaw.awardspace.com] [http://www.hierosgamos.org]

*KharkovInventa Ltd [http://www.hierosgamos.org]

Ukrconsulting Law Firm LLC. [http://www.ukrconsulting.biz]

*ChernovtsyKonnov & Sozanovsky [http://www.konnov.com]

*LvivSoldatenko, Lukashyk & Partners [http://www.hierosgamos.org]

List of 100 largest law firms globally

List of largest European law firms

Law firms at the Open Directory Project

Notary in Ukraine

Notary in Ukraine is regulated by the law "On Notary". There are private and public notaries in Ukraine. The only difference between them is that fees for services charged by public notaries are regulated and set by the state. Fees paid to private notaries are not regulated and are set by private notaries themselves. To be a Notary (ukr: Notarius) in Ukraine one has to have law degree (Jurist) and after examination before Regional (oblast) Notary Commission successful applicant is issued notary certificate by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine. Notaries are not allowed by law to work in courts, police, and prosecutor office and represent people in courts or any other government offices. The major role of notaries in Ukraine is to notarize, put notary Seal (device),stamp and signature on agreements,contracts between persons in accordance to Civil Code of Ukraine.Every notarized document (agreement, contract, etc.) is issued on numerated, special paper form, protected by security features and is registered in notary book which is kept after completion in regional (oblast) archive for good. Database of notaries is kept and accessible to public on the official website of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.By the 2007 there were about 13 000 notaries in Ukraine.

Criminal Investigation system in Ukraine

Investigation carried out under official authority by law enforcement personnelsuch as
*Police (militia) Militsiya Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ukraine)
*Tax police (tax militia)
*Public procurator (public prosecutor) Prosecutor General of Ukraine
*National security (SBU) Security Service of Ukraine

Criminal investigation:
Criminal law
Criminal procedure

Prisons in Ukraine

State Department of Ukraine for Enforcement of Sentences is in charge of prisons in Ukraine.Detailed information is on the official website ( http://www.kvs.gov.ua) of the department.

As of 2007 the total prison population in Ukraine is 240 000 people out of 48 mil population.

Prisons in Ukraine are classified in to:

*pre-trial or remand prison, (SIZO)
*High security prisons
*Medium security prisons
*Low security prisons

Those who are charged with criminal offences which entail sentencing for three years or more are arrested and kept before trial in Investigative isolator (ukr: SIZO) during whole period of criminal investigation and after sentencing is moved to the prison indicated by court in sentencing decision.Bail not often is used by courts in Ukraine.

Miscellaneous

In Ukraine every person over 18 years of age must always carry a passport, or (for foreigners) an aliens document.Person unable to provide passport is allowed by law to be arrested by police for 72 hours in order to establish identity.

ee also

*Legal systems of the world
*Roman law
*Constitution of Ukraine
*Ukrainian nationality law
*Income tax in Ukraine
*Law enforcement in Ukraine
*Ukrainian copyright law
*Ministry of Justice (Ukraine)
*Law degree
*Courts
*Law schools of Ukraine
*Codification
*Legal Codes
*Criminal code
*Civil Code
*Types of corporations
*Types of companies
*Not-for-profit corporation
*Judicial system of Ukraine

External links

* [http://www.rada.gov.ua Parlament of Ukraine (Verkhovna Rada) Database of law texts in Ukrainian and English]
* [http://www.kmu.gov.ua Government of Ukraine]
* [http://www.minjust.gov.ua Ministry of Justice of Ukraine,List of law firms,Notaries]
* [http://www.court.gov.ua Courts of Ukraine, List of courts]
* [http://www.court.gov.ua Registry of Ukrainia courts decisions]
* [http://www.ccu.gov.ua Constitutional Court of Ukraine]
* [http://www.scourt.gov.ua Superior Court Of Ukraine ]
* [http://www.arbitr.gov.ua Superior Economic Court of Ukraine]
* [http://www.vasu.gov.ua Superior Administrative Court of Ukraine]
* [http://www.kvs.gov.ua Prisons of Ukraine]
* [http://www.court.gov.ua State Courts Administration]
* [http://www.vak.org.ua Higher Attestation Commission of Ukraine]
* [http://www.vru.gov.ua HIGH COUNCIL OF JUSTICE OF UKRAINE]
* [http://www.welcometo.kiev.ua Yaroslav the Wise Institute of Legal Information]
* [http://www.just.ks.ua/index.php?module=page&id=31 State registry of laws of Ukraine]

References