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Journal of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine

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The social function of property rights in the context of increasing threats to public well-being

Oksana Maryanovna Vinnik , Maryna M. Velykanova

Received 26.03.2026, Revised 27.04.2026, Accepted 30.06.2026

Abstract

The article is devoted to the topical topic of the social function of property rights, which has become particularly relevant in the current context of increasing threats to public well-being (wars, climate change due to environmental pollution, threats of pandemics, risks of digitalization, abuse of opportunities – digital, property, etc.). By employing the dialectical method, methods of systemic and logical analysis and synthesis, formal-logical and comprehensive analysis, as well as specialized legal research methods (comparative-legal, concretization and interpretation of legal norms, formal-legal, and historical-legal), the authors propose legal instruments capable of enhancing the social function of property rights. In contemporary conditions, such enhancement is vital not only on a national scale but for humanity as a whole. An analysis of the works of Ukrainian and foreign researchers shows: the social function of property rights is considered as a mechanism for harmonizing the private interests of the owner with general social needs; property rights as a dynamic category evolves together with the legal and social systems, moving from the absolute domination of the owner over property to a model according to which property is correlated with social obligations. This function of property rights involves ensuring a balance of private and public interests in the exercise of property rights, social and, in cases provided for by law, property responsibility of the owner, economic justice (preferential protection of vulnerable segments of society – consumers), the regulatory role of the state (consolidation at the level of law of the legal regime of property rights), public utility (use of property - paid taxes and other mandatory payments - to solve social problems). Through the examination of Ukrainian legislation, EU law, and the draft Civil Code of Ukraine (the Private Law Code), this study identifies systemic challenges in the legal support of the social function of property. It formulates original proposals aimed at refining the legal framework of property and adapting it to digital transformation, thereby ensuring the efficient operation of Ukraine’s updated private law system.

Keywords:

property rights; civil legal relations; private legal relations; abuse of law; risks; balance of private public interests; digital justice; rights protection

https://doi.org/10.31359/1993-0909.2026.33.2.206

Retrieved from Journal NALSU №2, 2026 year

Pages 206-224

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Suggested citation

Oksana Maryanovna Vinnik , & Maryna M. Velykanova (2026). The social function of property rights in the context of increasing threats to public well-being. Journal of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine, 33(2), 206-224. https://doi.org/10.31359/1993-0909.2026.33.2.206