Mediation and termination of the lease agreement of the land share in case of its allocation in kind on the ground
Authors: Busuiok Diana 
Published: November 2021

The article states that the legal regulation of land turnover requires their individualization. Therefore, in practice there is allocationof land shares (units) in kind on the ground. In this regard, the question still arises as to what happens to the land lease agreementin the case of allocation of land share - is it subject to termination or re-conclusion?It is noted that such disputes should be resolved not only in court, but also out of court – the order of mediation. Mediation shouldnot only take into account the interests of the parties to the land dispute and their needs, but also rely on current legislation on the issueand the practice of resolving such disputes by the Supreme Court. There is a need to determine the legislation on this issue and possibleapproaches to resolving such disputes through mediation.Determinants in the introduction of land share are the Decree of the President of Ukraine “On urgent measures to accelerate landreform in the field of agricultural production” of November 10, 1994 № 666/94 and the Decree of the President of Ukraine “On thedist ribution of land transferred to collective ownership of agricultural enterprises and organizations” of August 8, 1995 № 720 / 95.Despite the generally accepted fact in the theory of law that the object of turnover can only be individually identified property inthe transitional provisions of the Law of Ukraine “Land Lease” of October 6, 1998 № 161-XIV contains provisions according to whichcitizens – holders of certificates for the right to land share before allocating them in kind (on the ground) land have the right to enterinto lease agreements for agricultural land, the location of which is determined taking into account the requirements of rational orga -nization territory and compactness of land use, in accordance with these certificates in compliance with the Law of Ukraine “LandLease”.After allocating land in kind (on the ground) to the owners of land shares (units), the land lease agreement is renegotiated inaccordance with the state act on land ownership on the same terms as previously concluded, and may be changed only by agreementof the parties. Termination of the lease agreement is allowed only in cases specified by the Law of Ukraine “Land Lease”.The list of grounds for termination of the land lease agreement is not exhaustive. Cases of termination of the land lease agreement(share) may be provided by another law. However, the allocation of land on the basis of land share in kind on the ground as a basis fortermination of obligations of the parties is not provided by law, but in the order of the State Committee of Ukraine for Land Resources“Approval of the Standard Lease Agreement share” dated January 17, 2000 № 5.This inconsistency between these two acts, so different in their legal force, in practice leads to disputes over the grounds for terminationof the lease of land share in the event of its allocation.In this regard, in the Resolution of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court of September 1, 2020, case № 233/3676/19, a correspondingposition was expressed.Examining the above acts, we identified certain shortcomings in determining the grounds for termination of the lease of land(shares). Such uncertainty provokes land disputes.

In order to improve the legal regulation of leased land relations, it is necessary to harmonize the legal requirements of differentlegal acts and enshrine in the Law of Ukraine “Land Lease” such grounds for termination of land lease as the allocation of land sharein kind on the ground.In order to effectively mediate land disputes, this inconsistency should be kept in mind in the following cases:1) when conducting contractual mediation, which will consist in concluding a land lease agreement (share) and agreeing on thegrounds for termination of this agreement. Such mediation will be aimed at preventing disputes over the grounds for termination ofsuch an agreement in the future;2) during the mediation of a dispute regarding the termination of the land lease agreement (share) in the case of its allocation inkind on the ground.