The Provisions on Gift in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation

Abstract

AbstractThe author offers a critical examination of the provisions on gift in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Focusing narrowly on the text of the code, the paper starts with a broad overview of, and commentary on, the provisions and then provides a detailed article-by-article commentary on individual provisions. Potential difficulties are identified (especially with respect to the notion of transfer, the repetition of articles, and the code's development of the concept of fiducia) and suggestions are offered for how the text might be clarified or, in certain cases, substantively changed. The author observes that the legal framework provided by the Russian code to regulate gift is a fundamentally sound one that broadly echoes the approach taken in other civil law jurisdictions.