Prawa rzeczowe przysługujące obywatelom Ukrainy na tle obowiązujących w Polsce norm kolizyjnych

Abstract

Mass inflow of Ukrainian citizens into Poland gives rise to many legal issues, including conflict-of-law questions about rights in rem held by such persons both in respect of property left in Ukraine and property brought to Poland. In the context of the prolonged stay of such persons in Poland, one crucial task may be, for example, to establish the law applicable to the disposal of their property brought to Poland under legal acts made in Poland.The Agreement between the Republic of Poland and Ukraine on legal aid and legal relationships in civil and criminal matters, done at Kiev on 24 May 1993, applicable in Polish-Ukrainian relations, devotes several provisions to those questions.However, the Agreement ignores the question of the law applicable to property law relationships having movable items as their objects. In particular, it does not designate the law applicable to contracts transferring the ownership of movable assets and contracts encumbering such assets with limited rights in rem. The relevant norms in this regard are conflict-of-law rules of the Polish Act of 04 February 2011 — Private International Law, and of the Ukrainian confl ict-of-law Act of 23 June 2005, designating the law applicable to property.Accordingly, as long as movable items are located in Poland, Polish law will apply with regard to the respective property law relationships. This is provided for in Article 41 (1) of the Private International Law Act. However, Polish law will not apply to obligational and property rights having as their object immovable properties located in Ukraine, which is covered by Article 32 of the Agreement of 24 May 1993. In this regard, Ukrainian law is exclusively applicable.Under Article 41 (2) of the Private International Law Act, in the assessment of legal relationships relating to a movable property brought to Poland from Ukraine, one should also consider legal events taking place when the asset in question was still in Ukraine. However, the assessment of legal events having an impact on property law relationships taking place in Poland and relating to movable items brought back to Ukraine will be based on the Ukrainian law.