Rada passes bill to counter raiders' attacks

The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, has passed bill No. 3774 to amend certain laws of Ukraine on improving the mechanism to counter attempts to illegally seize property, or the so-called raiders' attacks.

Some 311 lawmakers backed the draft law with the required minimum being 226 votes, an UNIAN correspondent reported on April 15.

The explanatory note to the bill says that the document authorizes the Justice Ministry to ban the registration of property for the period of consideration of a complaint about such registration-related actions (decisions). This will allow a prompt halt to the illegal seizure of property that has begun, block the artificial creation of a bona fide buyer's entity and ensure the proper implementation of the ministry's decision taken after the consideration of the complaint.

Read alsoZelensky signs law to tackle raiders in agri-sectorIn addition, it is proposed to remove artificial barriers for consideration by the Justice Ministry of complaints about registration actions (decisions), creating a reliable institutional basis for the consideration of almost all complaints containing basic information about the complainant and the registration action being challenged.

The document also improves the procedure for handling complaints, eliminates the provisions that allowed mala fide persons to block their consideration by the Justice Ministry, and introduces the mandatory publication of decisions taken by the ministry on the official website.

The bill introduces a rule on suspension of the period given for challenging an act of registration if an improperly prepared complaint is returned to the complainant (for the period between the date of filing the complaint and the date of its return). It also increases the period for appealing the registration actions (decisions) from 60 days to three months (90 days) along with the introduction of a deadline (three years from the date of the contested registration action), after which the right to challenge the registration cannot be exercised.

Also, the draft law cancels the procedure for stopping consideration of documents submitted for state registration of legal entities, individual entrepreneurs and public organizations. Moreover, it improves the rules for signing resolutions of the general meeting of legal entity participants, establishing that the minutes of the meeting on changing its head must be signed by those who voted in favor and whose votes are sufficient for its adoption. The document introduces the possibility of conducting separate registration actions related to individual entrepreneurs and legal entities without human involvement.

In addition, the draft law introduces a rule that a deal to terminate an agricultural land lease agreement, according to which the lessee is a legal entity, is declared significant by default. That is, it requires a preliminary approval of the deal by the general meeting of stakeholders.

Head of the Committee on Legal Policy's subcommittee Ihor Fris says the bill implies that the owners will be informed about the registration actions related to their property.

Anti-raiding bill: Background

• In December 2020, the Verkhovna Rada passed the bill to amend the Land Code of Ukraine and some other legislative acts to counter raiders' attacks.
• The document envisages the provision of state cadastral registrars with online access to information contained in the State Register of Rights to Real Estate, while public registrars should have the right of online access to all data in the State Land Cadastre, the explanatory note to the bill said.
• According to the document, state registrars must expand data vetting beyond the State Register of Rights to Real Estate – to the State Land Cadastre. During the registration of land plot ownership rights, a state registrar shall also be obliged to check whether a person who has applied for registration is entitled to do so, as well as verify data on real estate in other state registries.
• A state registrar is obliged to leave without consideration the application for registration of the right to immovable property if the cadastral number of the land plot is not indicated in the State Land Cadastre.
• The draft law provides for increased administrative liability for registrars if they commit illegal actions during property registration.