CC BY
12JURIDICAL SCIENCES
LEGAL ISSUES OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION OF UKRAINE:
FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT
Artiukhova N.
PhD in Law, doctoral student, National Academy of the Security Service of Ukraine
Kyiv, Ukraine
Abstract
In the paper, the main normative and legal acts enacted since the independence of Ukraine in the sphere of its international trade and economic cooperation with foreign partners are analyzed. The advantages and disadvantages of the intergovernmental agreements on free trade areas with other countries of the world community are considered. Possible directions of improving legal framework of national interests' protection in the specified sphere of public relations are defined.
Keywords: trade and economic cooperation, national interests, normative and legal acts, free trade area agreements.
Dealing with important socio-economic, political and other tasks is almost impossible for Ukraine without its participation in international trade and economic cooperation with foreign partners. It is quite clear that such cooperation of Ukraine with other countries of the world as well as with international organizations is a precondition for successful solution of not only urgent foreign policy and foreign economic issues but also those of internal character.
However, the intensification of Ukraine's integration into the world economy causes a number of problems in the sphere of legal regulation of its trade and economic cooperation with foreign partners, which solution will help to increase the level of economic balance and ensure equilibrium in the internal market, stimulate progressive structural changes in the national economy, create favorable conditions for its integration into the global labor division, help national socio-economic development meet the standards of the developed countries, develop an effective mechanism for national interests' protection in the sphere of trade and economic cooperation, etc.
Considering the above mentioned, the article 18 of the Constitution of Ukraine [1] states that its foreign policy activities are aimed at ensuring its national interests and security by maintaining peaceful and mutually beneficial cooperation with members of the international community in accordance with generally recognized principles and rules of international law.
Thus, from the first years of its independence, Ukraine began to actively seek its niche in the global system of international trade and economic cooperation and took measures to support it with relevant legislative acts. In such a way, Ukraine was moving away from the Soviet "self-sufficient resources" ideology, when trade and economic cooperation was aimed solely at compensating the shortage of certain goods, most trade and economic agreements were temporary and export-import operations were carried out exclusively under direct state supervision.
Nowadays the main directions of trade and economic cooperation of Ukraine are determined and reg-
ulated by its international agreements and national legislation. Thus, the trade and economic operations in Ukraine are regulated by the laws of Ukraine, Decrees of the President of Ukraine; Decrees of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the provisions of the Ministry for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine, other ministries and agencies that administer certain tariff and non-tariff issues, intergovernmental agreements between Ukraine and its partner states and other legislative acts of Ukraine.
The basis of the legal regulation of trade and economic activities of Ukrainian enterprises in foreign markets is the Law of Ukraine "On Foreign Economic Activities" of April 16, 1991, where the main terms used in the practice of foreign economic activities are defined; the basic principles and rules for its implementation are established; the range of subjects of foreign economic activity is determined and their rights and duties are outlined; possible types of foreign economic activities are specified; the regulation of foreign economic activities is formalized in legislation, etc. [2].
Therefore, the principles, types and subjects of foreign economic activities, defined in the Law of Ukraine "On Foreign Economic Activities", as well as the issues of legal regulation of social relations arising between them, enable the state to regulate foreign economic relations taking into account national interests and create an appropriate legal regime which contributes to the development of trade and economic cooperation between Ukraine and other countries of the world and enhances its efficiency.
In this context, it should be mentioned that an important role in the legal regulation of trade and economic cooperation of Ukraine belongs to customs legislation. Thus, the necessary condition for export commodities crossing the customs border of Ukraine is the fulfillment of customs formalities according to the law of Ukraine "On the Customs Tariff' [3], as well as the Customs Code of Ukraine [4]. It should also be noted that the Law of Ukraine "On the Customs Tariff' regulates customs duties imposed on goods and other items that are transported across the customs border of Ukraine, while the Customs Code of Ukraine regulates
the activities of customs control services, determines their rights and duties, customs control procedures, etc.
In the process of concluding contracts for trade and economic transactions, the contractors are obliged to follow the "Regulation on the Form of Foreign Economic Contracts, which is used for purchase/sale agreements (delivery of services, execution of work) and commodity exchange agreements between Ukrainian business entities and their foreign partners regardless of ownership and type of activities.
Foreign currency payments are regulated by the law of Ukraine "On Currency and Currency Transactions" [6], where the legal bases for conducting currency transactions are defined, currency regulation and currency surveillance is determined, the rights and obligations of the subjects of currency transactions and authorized institutions are considered and responsibility for violation of the currency legislation is established. That is, the purpose of this law is to ensure a unified state policy in the field of foreign exchange transactions and the free conduct of all legally permitted foreign exchange transactions in Ukraine.
In order to implement the principles of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), prevent foreign countries and their economic groupings from exercising anti-dumping measures on Ukrainian goods, provide favorable conditions for export, prompt implementation of security measures aimed at protecting national interests of Ukraine in the sphere of trade and economic cooperation and also to ensure the fulfillment of its international obligations, the Decree "On measures preventing export of goods of Ukrainian origin at prices that may be considered as dumping and trade dispute settlement" was issued by the President of Ukraine [7].
Taking into account the urgent need to protect its national interests in different spheres of national economy, Ukraine proceeds is taking steps to develop international trade and economic cooperation with its foreign partners. Thus, over the years of independence it has established relations with more than 166 countries of the world, become a member of more than 81 international organizations, a party to almost 50 multilateral economic treaties, has concluded and keeps over 2 thousand bilateral agreements.
Moreover, Ukraine is an active participant of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the International Trade Center, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations Development Program, and other bodies, foundations, programs and specialized agencies within the United Nations system.
It should be noted that a wide range of issues related to Ukraine's accession to or acceptance of international treaties, in particular the definition of their types, procedure for signing, ratification, approval, acceptance, compliance and execution is defined in the law of Ukraine "On the International Treaties of Ukraine" [8].
In this context, we consider it appropriate to emphasize that the development of international trade and
economic cooperation at the end of the XX - the beginning of the XXI century represents the growing significance and importance of the role of international trade groups, with Ukraine being their active participant. For instance, over the years of independence, Ukraine has concluded about 16 free trade agreements covering 45 countries. Among them are free trade agreements with EU countries, Canada, which includes trade in goods and public procurement, Georgia (trade in goods), Macedonia (trade in goods), Montenegro (trade in goods and services), countries of the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland) and the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. In addition, Ukrainian businesses have the opportunity to use the US Generalized System of Preferences, which provides for the duty-free export of about 5,000 types of goods.
It is quite evident that ahead there are much more free trade agreements waiting for Ukraine. Thus, in progress is the work on determining the economic efficiency of concluding free trade agreements with other important trading partners of Ukraine (the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), etc.).
The above-mentioned free trade agreements promote the free movement of goods and services between countries, which in its turn creates the conditions for attracting investment, falling costs of imports, development of domestic production, infrastructure, experience and technology sharing, ensures employment of the population, taxes and fees return, helps too maintain close interstate connections and so on.
At the same time, in almost every case, along with the benefits of participating in such agreements, there is a number of threats, while in some cases they even prevail. Thus, foreign trade and economic partners often view Ukraine primarily as a supplier of raw materials and an importer of value-added products. Obviously, such kind of cooperation is not efficient for Ukraine and can eventually interfere with its sustainable development. For this reason, when creating free trade areas, due consideration should be given to both the positive and negative effects that may arise as a result of trade and economic cooperation liberalization.
In conclusion, it should be noted that the formation and development of the legal framework for trade and economic cooperation between Ukraine and its foreign partners takes place under the conditions of expanding the range of partner countries and creation of free trade zones with them, gaining certain benefits from participation in existing international associations, as well as considering the issues of joining the new economic unions.
However, there is an urgent need to further develop the legal foundations for the protection of national interests in this sphere of trade and economic cooperation in the context of economic transformations both at the global and national levels. The following directions can be considered: creating favorable environment for the promotion of domestic goods and services in foreign markets, improving the conditions of foreign
market access for the domestic producers and their expansion, concluding new agreements on trade and economic cooperation, creating free trade areas, etc.
References
1. Constitution of Ukraine of 28.06.1996. URL: http://za-
kon1.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/254%D0%BA/96-%D0%B2%D1%80 (Date accessed: 22.04.2020).
2. On foreign economic activities: Law of Ukraine of 16.04.1991 № 959-XII. URL: https://za-kon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/959-12 (Date accessed: 20.04.2020).
3. On the Customs tariff of Ukraine: Law of Ukraine of 02.03.2019 № 584-VII. URL: https://za-kon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/584-18 (Date accessed: 20.04.2020).
4. Customs Code of Ukraine of 13.03.2012. URL: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/4495-17 (Date accessed: 13.01.2020).
5. Regulation on the Form of Foreign Economic Contracts: the Order of the Ministry of Economy and for the European Integration of Ukraine of 06.09.2001 № 201. URL: https://za-kon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/z0833-01 (Date accessed: 24.04.2020).
6. On Currency and Currency Transactions: Law of Ukraine of 13.02.2020 № 2473-VIII. URL: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2473-19 (Date accessed: 28.04.2020).
7. On measures preventing export of goods of Ukrainian origin at prices that may be considered as dumping and trade dispute settlement: Decree of the President of Ukraine of 23.04.2000 № 7/2000. URL: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/475/94?lang=ru (Date accessed: 02.02.2020).
8. On International Treaties of Ukraine: Law of Ukraine of 29.06.2004 № 1315. URL: https://za-kon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1906-15 (Date accessed: 27.04.2020).
КРИТЕРИИ РАЗУМНОСТИ И ДОБРОСОВЕСТНОСТИ ПРИ ОПРЕДЕЛЕНИИ УСЛОВИЙ ДОГОВОРА В КАЧЕСТВЕ НЕСПРАВЕДЛИВЫХ
Багаутдинова А.М.,
студентка 1 курса магистратуры, Башкирский государственный университет
Анисимов В.А.
Научный руководитель к.ю.н., доцент кафедры гражданского права Института права Башкирского государственного университета
CRITERIA OF REASONABLENESS AND GOOD FAITH IN DETERMINING THE TERMS OF A
CONTRACT AS UNFAIR
Bagautdinova A.,
1st year master's student,
Bashkir State University Anisimov V.
Scientific supervisor Ph.D., Associate Professor of civil law Department of Institute of law of Bashkir state University
Аннотация
В статье исследуется такой способ защиты гражданских прав как признание условий договора в качестве несправедливых. Автор анализирует квалифицирующие признаки указанного правового явления, установленные на законодательном уровне и выделяемые в судебной практике и юридической доктрине, в тесной связи с принципами разумности и добросовестности. В заключении исследователь приходит к выводу о необходимости официального закрепления третьего обязательного признака несправедливых условий, а именно недобросовестности сильной стороны договора.
Abstract
The article explores such a way of protecting civil rights as recognizing the terms of a contract as unfair. The author analyzes the qualifying features of this legal phenomenon, established at the legislative level and highlighted in judicial practice and legal doctrine, in close connection with the principles of reasonableness and good faith. In conclusion, the researcher comes to the conclusion that it is necessary to formalize the third mandatory feature of unfair conditions, namely, the bad faith of «the strong side» of the contract.
Ключевые слова: свобода договора, несправедливые договорные условия, способы защиты гражданских прав, принцип разумности, принцип добросовестности, принцип справедливости.
Keywords: freedom of contract, unfair contractual terms, ways to protect civil rights, the principle of reasonableness, the principle of good faith, the principle of justice.
