Особливості правового регулювання інституту опіки на українських землях за Литовським статутом

Abstract

Здійснено дослідження цивільно-правового інституту опіки на українських землях за Литовськими статутами. З’ясовано, що Литовські статути, продовжуючи опікунські традиції Київської Русі, детально регламентували майнові відносини між опікунами та підопічними шляхетського походження, а опіку над дітьми з непривілейованих верств населення регулювали відповідно до звичаєвих норм. Обґрунтовано, що Третій Литовський статут, увібравши найкращі правові ідеї, зберігши дух українського народного права, став своєрідним підсумком еволюції опікунського права на українських землях у XVI ст. This article focuses on research in the civil and legal institution of wardship in the Ukrainian lands based on the Statutes of Lithuania. It has been established that the national peculiarities of legal regulation of social relations in warship began to emerge in the Ukrainian lands as early as the 9th century. The institution of wardship that evolved and was refined through the Statutes of Lithuania drew on customary law framework laid down in Kievan Rus and codified in Rus’ka Pravda (Rus’ Truth) and retained its peculiar identity. In contrast to modern civil law, in the law of Lithuanian Rus’, there existed no distinction between wardship and guardianship, and regulatory framework only covered wardship. Wardship was defined as establishing external power over a family consisting solely of minor or underage members, thus replacing the authority of one or both parents. Given the prevalence of rules in the Statutes of Lithuania designed to regulate property relations and complete or partial absence of property among underprivileged social strata (dependent peasants, urban underclass), we may assume that wardship over children from such families was established and governed by customary law. The First Statute of Lithuania enacted in 1529 was a statutory instrument, the fifth section of which provided for comprehensive and thorough defences of the rights of children in wardship (including property rights) and ensured the legal regulation of the civil and legal institution of wardship to legal standards that could be considered high in their day. Based on the analysis of the regulations of the Statute of Lithuania of 1529, we may conclude that wardship could be established not only over children, but also over the property of adults. While continuing in the way of developing the civil and legal institution of wardship, the Second Statute of Lithuania of 1566 contained a specific section titled On Wardship. Like the two initial Statutes, the Third Statute of Lithuania of 1588 covered civil and legal regulation of wardship in its sixth section On Wardship, which contained the same provisions relating to wardship as the Statute of Lithuania of 1566, however slightly modified and supplemented. The Third Statute of Lithuania that absorbed the best of legal ideas and kept the spirit of the Ukrainian customary law drew the bottom line under the evolution of wardship law of the 16th century in the Ukrainian lands.