MARRIAGE CONTRACT IN UKRAINE: PRACTICAL ASPECT OF CONCLUSION AND ANALYSIS OF COURT PRACTICE

Abstract

The article analyzes domestic judicial practice related to the conclusion of a marriage contract. The legal nature of this phenomenon was analyzed and the current legislation in this area was studied. The authors provide statistics on the conclusion of marriage contracts in Ukraine and demonstrate examples of why this method of regulating marriage and family relations is unpopular among the population of our country. An author’s definition of the concept of a marriage contract was also proposed. The article deals with the terms of the marriage contract; parties who can enter into it; legal relations that may be regulated by this document; its content and specific term of validity. Considerable attention in the work is devoted to the issue of invalidating such a contract. The authors determine the specifics of the judicial procedure for consideration of such cases, analyzing judicial practice over the past five years. In total, the article analyzed six court cases in this area. In addition, the authors examine the issue of defining such a legal category as “extremely disadvantaged material situation” and state the conditions and grounds for its recognition. Considerable attention was paid in the work to the study of the criteria of legality (legality) of the marriage contract. It was concluded that these include: the absence of contradictions between its content and the requirements of the law, that is, compliance of the contract with imperative norms and, secondly, compliance with the moral principles of society. The need to develop a program to inform the population about the essence and role of the marriage contract in regulating marital relations is also indicated. The state should convey to citizens the opinion that a marriage contract is not an indicator of mistrust of a partner or a marriage of convenience, but a reliable and effective way to protect one’s rights during a possible divorce. Notaries should recommend that spouses conclude this type of marriage and family contract, because it regulates a wide range of issues related to the property of the spouses and has a clearly defined mechanism for concluding it.