Legal consequences of the invalidity of an imaginary transaction

Abstract

Imaginary transactions have long been the subject of civil studies. However, most of them focus on the characterization of the legal nature and features of imaginary transactions. The legal consequences of imaginary transactions, which cannot be called doctrinally defined, remain outside the boundaries of research interest. The lack of proper theoretical elaboration of legal consequences creates many law enforcement problems, forcing the courts to use legal consequences that do not correspond to the essence of the relations that develop between the parties to the imaginary transaction. The purpose of the article is to determine the legal consequences of the invalidity of imaginary transactions, taking into account their legal nature and the fact that the terms of such a transaction are not actually fulfilled by the parties. It is concluded that bilateral restitution cannot be a legal consequence of imaginary transactions. In general, to protect the rights of third parties who are victims of such transactions, it is sufficient to declare such a transaction invalid. The decision on the restoration of public-law registration records should take place outside the boundaries of the civil consequences of the invalidity of transactions. Taking into account the intent and bad faith of all the parties to the alleged transaction at the time of its commission, for them the only legal consequence of such a transaction will be the refusal of judicial protection, including the refusal to recognize it as invalid. A claim for invalidation of an alleged transaction may be filed by any person who has proved that he or she has a legally protected interest in such recognition.