Legal Aspects of the Opening of Ukraine’s Land Markets

Abstract

Creating a land market is one of the most debated and politicised issues of Ukraine’s environmental and agricultural policy. There is an urgent need to examine the following issues (among others): a) identifying priority measures for establishing the land market; b) studying the experience of public land management so as to further adapt the land legislation of Ukraine to the requirements of the European Union; and c) maintaining the domestic agrarian sector in the context of effective conservation of the State’s land resources. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the preconditions and realities of opening up the agricultural land market in Ukraine, including to formulate sound conclusions on the practical consequences of such reforms for domestic landowners. It was researched applying two basic approaches to scientific cognition – general scientific methods and special legal methods. It elaborates the conditions for the introduction of a land market in Ukraine; analyses the historical prerequisites for the implementation of land reform; identifies the main risks for landowners that come into play with the opening of the land market; and formulates further directions of improvement of relevant legal regulations and mechanisms. Noting that currently Ukrainians have the least amount of investment capital and extremely limited access to loans, it concludes that, under current legislation, without a clear definition of the right to purchase their own land, the holders of private farms and other small farmers will struggle to gain access to the Ukrainian land market.