Legal recodification – creating legislation for a new era

The issue of legal recodification has been gaining increasing relevance in recent years both in Ukraine and abroad. This relevance is not only driven by the emergence of new legal relationships requiring the implementation of new regulatory mechanisms but also by global challenges that demand a more flexible legal response. Recently, legislative initiatives on codification have been encompassing an increasing number of countries worldwide, becoming, in a way, an international trend, particularly associated with processes of internationalization and convergence of legislation across different countries. The implementation of codification initiatives and practices has long been discussed in legal sources and on specialized discussion platforms across various legal domains. Ukraine's strategic foreign policy course towards accession to the European Union, along with the alignment of Ukrainian legislation with EU legislation and legal doctrine, necessitates both a review of the content of many domestic legislative acts in various fields and, in some cases, normative approaches. The latter question is directly related to the process of codification as a tool for modernization, updating legislation to adapt it to new challenges and societal demands. In Ukraine, there are currently several initiatives on legal codification in many legal areas, including civil, commercial, and criminal law. However, foreign experience in implementing similar initiatives suggests that they may require considerable time, significant expert-technical support, and legislative efforts. Although the ongoing armed aggression against Ukraine by the Russian Federation complicates the implementation of many important codification initiatives due to objective factors, it is evident that such initiatives will increasingly take priority on the domestic legislative agenda in the foreseeable future. This paper aims to identify prospective directions for the development of legal recodification in Ukraine within the context of international practices. The study presents an expanded view of the concept of recodification against the backdrop of contemporary challenges and prospects in the sphere of legislation and the preparation of normative legal acts. Additionally, issues such as the internationalization of the recodification process, the political-legal aspects of recodification in Ukraine and abroad, the mobility of the legislative process, and others are examined.

recodification, reform, legislation, modernization of legislation, legal regulation