Ukrainian Law

Ukrainian Law

The legal system of Ukraine is based on the framework of civil law, and belongs to the Romano-Germanic legal tradition. The main source of legal information is codified law. Customary law and case law are not as common, though case law is often used in support of the written law, as in many other legal systems. Historically, the Ukrainian legal system is primarily influenced by the French civil code, Roman Law, and traditional Ukrainian customary law. The new civil law books (enacted in 2004) were heavily influenced by the German Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch.

The primary law making body is the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada), also referred to as the legislature (Ukrainian: zakonodavtsi). The power to make laws can be delegated to lower governments or specific organs of the State, but only for a prescribed purpose. In recent years, it has become common for the legistature to create "framework laws" and delegate the creation of detailed rules to ministers or lower governments (e.g. a province or municipality).

Ukrainian politicians and analysts have described the system of justice in Ukraine as "rotten to the core".