ON THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF LEGISLATION PROVISIONS REGARDING COMPENSATION FOR DESTROYED REAL ESTATE OBJECTS AS A RESULT OF THE ARMED AGGRESSION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the constitutionality of the provisions of the Law of Ukraine «On Compensation for Damage and Destruction of Certain Categories of Real Estate Objects as a Result of Hostilities, Terrorist Acts, Sabotage Caused by the Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, and the State Register of Property Damaged and Destroyed as a Result of Hostilities, Terrorist Acts, Sabotage Caused by the Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine» of February 23, 2023, which was adopted in response to the large-scale destruction of Ukraine’s housing stock as a result of the armed aggression of the russian federation. The paper substantiates that the provision of paragraph 3 of part 3 of Article 2 of the Law, which deprives the heirs of persons subject to sanctions or convicted of crimes against national security of the right to receive compensation for destroyed or damaged real estate, contradicts Article 61 of the Constitution of Ukraine. The authors emphasize that the principle of individual legal responsibility, enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine and international treaties (the European Convention on Human Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU), excludes the transfer of negative legal consequences to heirs who did not participate in the unlawful activities of the testator. The article provides a doctrinal and practical analysis of the essence of the principle of individualization of legal responsibility, outlines the positions of scholars, and cites the practice of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, which confirms the necessity of personalizing the application of sanctions and punishments. It is stressed that the exclusion of heirs from the circle of recipients of compensation for destroyed housing effectively equates them with accomplices in the actions of the testator, which is discriminatory and contradicts the foundations of the rule of law. The authors propose amendments to the disputed provision of the Law in order to clarify the cases when heirs may indeed be restricted in the right to compensation, namely – if real estate objects were acquired by the testator in a manner that contradicts national security and state interests. Such an approach would make it possible to achieve a balance between protecting citizens’ rights and the interests of the state, ensuring the compliance of legislation with the Constitution of Ukraine and international human rights standards.