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Article Proportionality Criteria of the Agricultural Land Sale Moratorium as a Restriction of the Property Right in the Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights
Authors NATALIIA BLAZHIVSKA
Name of magazine Legal journal «Law of Ukraine» (Ukrainian version)
Issue 7 / 2018
Pages 219 - 231
Annotation

On May 22, 2018, the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter – ECHR) passed a judgment in the case of Zelenchuk and Tsytsyura v. Ukraine by which it held that the legislation of Ukraine establishing the moratorium on agricultural land sale violates Article 1 of Protocol No.1 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”). This Judgment caused an outcry among the public in general and in the professional environment in particular, and therefore will probably trigger a wave of new publicistic and scientific research focused on whether the moratorium should be lifted. Actually, the article will be centered on the issue of ensuring the balance between public interests and owner’s interests in case the agricultural land sale moratorium is established. The purpose of the article is to determine the proportionality criteria of the agricultural land sale moratorium as a restriction of the property right in accordance with the ECHR case law. It was found that Ukraine’s legislation establishing the agricultural land sale moratorium does not meet the requirements of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention, but this does not imply that the State of Ukraine should immediately lift the moratorium and introduce an open market of agricultural lands. Instead, the State of Ukraine has a choice: either to lift the moratorium and thereby eliminate the interference with the property right, or to keep the moratorium in force or replace it with alternative measures, at the same time eliminating the violation of the Convention. In any case, Ukraine should adopt appropriate regulations and (or) apply other general measures to ensure a fair balance between the interests of agricultural land owners, on the one part, and general public interests, on the other part, in accordance with the principles of proprietary rights protection. To achieve this, the following is required: 1) to eliminate the legal uncertainty of relevant legislation by establishing clear time limits of validity of the moratorium or other restrictive measures which may be implemented as an alternative to it; 2) to ensure that the moratorium or alternative restrictive measures are proportionate to the stated goal of creating a land market by gradually reducing such bans and restrictions; 3) to lift the excessive burden on agricultural land owners by introducing flexible restrictions which may be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

 

Keywords property right to agricultural land; agricultural land sale moratorium; proportionality of interference with property right; case law of the European Court of Human Rights
References

List of legal documents 
 

Legislation 
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10. Proekt Zakonu pro obih zemel silskohospodarskoho pryznachennia [Draft Law on Agricultural Land Turnover] vid 13 grudnia 2016 r. № 5535. URL: http://w1.c1.rada. gov.ua/pls/zweb2/webproc4_1?pf3511=60724 (accessed: 01.06.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
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Cases 
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17. Postanova Verkhovnoho Sudu Ukrainy [Resolution of the Supreme Court of Ukraine] vid 12 zhovtnia 2016 r. № 6-464цс16. URL: http://www.scourt.gov.ua/clients/vsu/vsu.ns f/7864c99c46598282c2257b4c0037c014/9e31f8b5c9ad7fcfc225805900445e50/$FILE/6- 464%D1%86%D1%8116.doc (accessed: 01.06.2018) (in Ukrainian). 
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