The Verkhovna Rada adopted the new Civil Code in the first reading — human rights activists say that problems remain in it

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the draft of the new Civil Code (No. 15150) in the first reading. 254 MPs voted in favor, 2 against, 5 abstained. Another 45 peopleʼs deputies did not vote.

This became known from the billʼs card on the parliamentʼs website.

The first version of the code was published on January 22. Within five days, 26 public organizations jointly stated that the amendments to the code contradicted European legislation and EU requirements for membership in the Union. In particular, the article was about lowering the marriage age for girls with early pregnancy to 14 years old, and also defined marriage as a union of "a woman and a man".

Later, the norm on marriage from 14 was removed, and later the same deputies, led by the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk, submitted an alternative draft code, which has now been adopted by the Rada.

However, as human rights activists (including lawyer Oksana Huz) point out, this draft still has problems. For example, it defines marriage only as a union between a woman and a man, even if same-sex marriage is recognized abroad. This contradicts Ukraineʼs obligations to the EU.

And the "Olka" association wrote that the goal of the new project is to legalize illegally alienated state and municipal property. In particular, we are talking about forests, coastlines, archaeological sites, and cultural heritage sites.

In recent years, the Supreme Court has consistently ruled in favor of returning illegally privatized lands and monuments to the state and communities. The bill proposes to make entries in state registers “virtually irrefutable”. That is, if a dishonest acquirer was able to enter the property into the register, the state loses the tools to return it.

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