Remedies to protect civil rights: updating article 16 of the Civil code of Ukraine

The update of the normative body of the Civil Code of Ukraine is aimed at creating legal preconditions for the formation of a real and efficient market economy as an integral part of civil society, overcoming new challenges provoked by the full-scale war with the Russian Federation, and harmonizing Ukrainian legislation with EU law. This is especially important in the area of human rights protection. In view of the above, certain provisions of Article 16 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, which sets forth general approaches to the protection of civil rights and interests by the court, should be clarified in terms of the possibility of applying remedies not expressly provided for by law or contract. There is also an urgent need to take into account the latest trends in the development of private law on the issues of ensuring the right of a person to use adequate and effective means of protection of violated subjective rights, in accordance with the requirements of Article 13 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the practice of its application by the European Court of Human Rights. The article substantiates the expediency of clarifying the provisions on the application of unnamed remedies and updating the list of remedies for protection of civil rights and interests enshrined in Article 16 of the Civil Code of Ukraine. In particular, the author concludes that with a view to ensuring the effectiveness of protection of violated, unrecognized or disputed rights, freedoms or interests of individuals, rights and interests of legal entities, and interests of the State, it seems appropriate to enshrine in Article 16 of the Civil Code of Ukraine the conditions (prerequisites, criteria) for the application of remedies for the protection of civil rights not expressly provided for by law or contract. This will entitle the court to assess the remedy as appropriate and effective. It also seems justified to expand the named methods of protection of civil rights and interests by including in part 2 of Article 16 of the Civil Code of Ukraine such methods as recognition of a contract (transaction) as valid and recognition of a contract as concluded (not concluded).

recodification, subjective rights, personal property and non-property rights, contractual rights, corporate rights, exercise of rights, protection of civil rights, effective remedies, protection of rights by the court, remedies.