Энергия как объект договорных отношений: к вопросу о понятии и правовой природе

Abstract

The article is devoted to one of the discussion topics of modern law — the legal nature of energy as the object of law and contractual relations. Definition of the legal nature and the concept of any object of law is of primary importance from the point of view of classifying it among the existing groups of objects of law. Practical meaning of such classification involves establishing for each group of a legal regime, primarily determining the order of vesting rights for them and conditions of their circulability. The article analyzes doctrinal positions of scientists, who view energy as special property, on which the right of ownership arises, as a “bodiless” thing, etc. Taking into account the nature of energy as a phenomenon, the author comes to the conclusion about its nonmaterial nature, which allows making the assumption about impossibility to classify it either as a thing or as property. All the more so, classifying energy per se to an independent and only object of an agreement gives rise to doubts. As a result, by analogy with the recognized legal regime of intellectual property objects, the article proposes to vest energy with “indirect” circulability, and to understand the term “energy” as a special nonmaterial object of law, possessing economic value, in relation to which the contracting parties acquire corresponding proprietary rights.