12 February 2008, 10:23
The Bill (Reg.No.1140) seeks to simplify the procedure for consideration of matters concerning the Declaration of natural persons who went missing under circumstances endangering their life, or the presumption of their death in a specified incident.
During discussions, Committee members noted that some of provisions of this Bill require additional elaboration. For instances, additions to Clause 46 of the Civil Code of Ukraine concerning an immediate Declaration by the Courts that a natural person is dead, where his/her death can be presumed resulting from a certain incident caused by an emergency of man-made or natural origin. The current version of the Civil Code of Ukraine ( Part 1of Clause 46) already includes a provision on a shortened six-month (as against the general three-year) term, required to recognize a person as deceased, in the event that he/she went missing under circumstances that provide grounds leading to the presumption of his/her death from a specified incident. The People´s Deputies suggest that in certain cases this term can be reduced to one month.
Requiring additional modification is the addition to Clause 39 of the Procedural Civil Code of Ukraine, defining legal entities´ bodies, acting within their authorities together with Trade Union Committees( where such are available), within whose territory the said incident occurred, caused by the said emergency as legal representatives of natural persons´ interests. Committee members consider that it should be stated, whose interests these bodies represent . In addition, ‘legal entities´ bodies´ should be replaced with ‘legal entities´, since a legal entity´s body has no procedural civil competence, and cannot take part in Court proceedings (Clause 28 of the Procedural Civil Code of Ukraine). It is also not clear what is meant by ‘territory´, as neither a legal entity nor a Trade Union have a territory.
As a result of these discussions, Committee members resolved to remit their decision to the Legal Policy Committee, recommending that their comments are taken into account during further elaboration on this Bill.