Family code of ukraine

Article 1. Objectives of the Family Code of Ukraine

1. The Family Code of Ukraine defines the principles of marriage, personal non-property and property rights and responsibilities of spouses, grounds and scope of personal proprietary and non-proprietary rights and responsibilities of parents and children, adoptive parents and children, and other family members and relatives.

2. This Code regulates family relations with the purpose of:

strengthening family as a social institute and as a union of specific persons;

promoting being committed to parents, children and other family members;

building a family on parity grounds and on the basis of mutual love, respect, aid and support;

making sure that every child is provided with family care and opportunities for physical and mental development.

Article 2. Participants of family relations governed by the Family Code of Ukraine

1. The Family Code of Ukraine governs personal proprietary and non-proprietary relations between spouses, parents and children, adoptive parents and children, and a child’s mother and father to an extent related to the child’s upbringing, development and care.

2. The Family Code of Ukraine governs personal proprietary and non-proprietary relations between grandparents, great-grandparents and grandchildren, great-grandchildren, siblings, step-parents and step-children.

3. The Family Code of Ukraine governs personal proprietary and non-proprietary relations between all other members of the family not explicitly referred to herein.

4. The Family Code of Ukraine does not govern family relations between cousins, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces and other relatives by origin.

Article 3. The family

1. Family is a primary and core unit of the society.

2. A family consists of persons reside together, have common household, rights and responsibilities.

Spouses shall be considered a family even when they do not live together due to studies, work, medical treatment, having to care for their parents or children or for any other valid reasons.

The child belongs to the family of their parents even if they do not live together.

3. A single person shall have the rights of a family member.

4. A family is made through marriage, consanguinity, adoption or otherwise to an extent not in conflict with the applicable law and moral principles of the society.

Article 4. Right to have a family

1. A person who has reached the age of marriage may start their own family.

In cases referred to by Part 2 of Article 23 hereof, a family may be started by a person under the age of marriage.

2. A family may be started by a person who gave birth to a child, regardless of their age.

3. Everyone has the right to live with their family.

A person may be forcedly isolated from their family only in cases and according to the procedure contemplated by applicable law.

4. Everyone has the right for respect to their family life.

Article 5. Family protection by the state

1. The state shall protect the family, childhood, maternity and paternity, and shall contribute to the strengthening of the family.

2. The state shall provide appropriate conditions for maternity and paternity; shall protect the rights of the mother and the father; and shall provide material and moral incentives and otherwise support maternity and paternity.

3. The state shall ensure that family child care is a priority.

4. The state shall provide protection to every orphaned child and every child deprived of parental care.

5. No one shall suffer from the interference in their family life, except as envisaged by the Constitution of Ukraine.

Article 6. Child

1. In the legal perspective, a person shall be deemed a child until they reach the legal age of majority.

2. A child under the age of 14 shall be considered a minor.

A child aged fourteen to eighteen shall be considered underage.

Article 7. General principles governing family relations

1. Family relations shall be governed by this Code and other applicable rules and regulations.

2. Family relations may be governed under an agreement between the family members.

3. Family relations shall be governed to an extent this is acceptable and possible from the perspective of interests of the participants to such relations and interests of the society.

4. Family relations shall be regulated with due respect to the right to privacy of personal life and personal freedom and without any arbitrary intervention in the family life.

5. A participant of family relations shall not have any privileges or restrictions based on race, skin colour, political, religious and other beliefs, sex, ethnic and social origin, property status, place of residence, linguistic or other characteristics.

6. A woman and a man shall have equal rights and responsibilities in family relations, marriage and family.

7. A child shall be able to exercise their rights set forth in the Constitution of Ukraine, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and other applicable international treaties of Ukraine approved by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine as binding.

8. Family relations shall be governed to cater for the needs of the child and incapacitated family members to the broadest extent possible.

9. Family relations shall be governed under the principles of justice, good faith and reasonability and in any case in accordance with moral considerations of the society.

10. Every participant of family relations may seek protection in court.

Article 8. Application of the Civil Code of Ukraine to family relations

1. Where personal proprietary and non-proprietary relations between spouses, parents, children and other members of the family or relatives are not explicitly governed by this Code, relevant provisions of the Civil Code of Ukraine shall apply to an extent not contradicting the nature of family relations.