Understanding of the contract in the civil law of Ukraine and the EU

Abstract

The article is devoted to research a contract in the civil law of Ukraine and the European Union. The author examines the main scientific approaches of meaning a «contract» which covers such legal phenomena as a legal fact which is the basis for the emergence of civil rights and obligations; contractual obligation arising from a contract; and a document which establishes the fact of establishment of legal relationship between the parties. In the civil law of Ukraine, the qualifying feature of a contract as a transaction is its focus on achieving certain civil law consequences, i.e., the establishment, modification or termination of civil rights and obligations. It is on this basis that a civil law contract differs from the contractual forms used in other branches of law (labor, environmental, etc.), acquiring certain specific features there.
In private law of the European Union, there are also different approaches of meaning a «contract» depending on legal system of state- members. In particular, there are «subjective» and «objective» theories of meaning «contract». The «subjective» theory defines a contract as an agreement between two or more parties aimed to establish rights and obligations. The «objective» theory of contract is associated with the restriction of the freedom, formal equality and the state’s influence on the process of concluding and executing contracts. European legislation is generally characterized by a restrictive approach to understanding the concept of contract in the sense of mutual will of the parties aimed at legal consequences. The most common approach in EU law is the «integrative approach to the concept of a contract» as an agreement between two or more parties or a promise by one party relied upon by the other party aimed at creating, changing or terminating civil rights and obligations.