Types and features of sources of family law acting on the Ukrainian lands included in the Austro-Hungarian Empire

Abstract

The scientific article is devoted to the study of the types and features of sources of family law that operated on the Ukrainian lands during their entry into the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In particular, it was determined that from 1797 to 1811 on the territory of Galicia and Bukovina a draft code of civil law of the Austrian Empire was introduced to regulate civil and family relations. Subsequently, in 1811, the Austrian Civil Code, which operated on these lands until 1934, when the Code of Obligations of the Polish Republic came into force, became effective on the Western lands that were part of the Austrian Empire, as well as on the whole territory of the Empire. Transcarpathia and Northern Bukovina – before their joining Ukraine in 1945 and 1940 respectively. This codification, unlike the similar drafts of codifications of civil and family law in the territory of Dnieper Ukraine, did not concider local customs (as stated in the document, the application to legal relations of customs and local statutes was only possible in cases expressly provided by the Code). As a whole, it was part of a pan-European process of reforming civil and family law that began with the Napoleonic Code. At the same time, it was based mainly on the norms of Roman law (pandekt law), German law (Prussian Provincial Code, provincial law of Austrian territories), rather than local customs. Other sources of family law were of a derivative nature, had to comply with the rules of the Austrian Civil Code or to close the gaps in law. At this time, the role of contractual norms that could regulate the property relations of the spouse is increasing. This period was characterized by the predominant position of the husband in marriage, the restriction of parental authority only during the period of minor age, the clear establishment of obstacles to marriage and the grounds for marriage invalidity in the legislation, as well as the extension of the rights of illegitimate children in terms of securing the right to parental maintenance.