The Supreme Court, as part of the panel of judges of the Second Judicial Chamber of the Civil Cassation Court, in its Ruling of March 12, 2025, in case No. 568/823/23 regarding the termination of ownership of a land plot through its confiscation and sale at a land auction, the termination of the land lease agreement, and the termination of the lease right to land plots, reached the following conclusions:
Part five of Article 22 of the Land Code of Ukraine stipulates that agricultural land may not be transferred into the ownership of foreigners, stateless persons, foreign legal entities, and foreign states.
According to part four of Article 81 of the Land Code of Ukraine, agricultural land inherited by foreigners, as well as stateless persons, must be alienated within one year.
In accordance with subparagraph “e” of part one of Article 140 of the Land Code of Ukraine, the grounds for termination of ownership rights to a land plot include the failure of foreign persons and stateless persons to alienate the land plot within the prescribed period in cases determined by this Code.
Compulsory termination of rights to a land plot is carried out in a judicial procedure in the event of confiscation of the land plot (paragraph “v” of part one of Article 143 of the Land Code of Ukraine).
According to part two of Article 145 of the Land Code of Ukraine, if, under the law, the owner of a land plot is obliged to alienate it within a certain period and the land plot has not been alienated within that period, such land plot is subject to confiscation by a court decision.
Paragraph 10 of part one of Article 346 of the Civil Code of Ukraine defines confiscation as one of the grounds for termination of ownership rights.
Part five of Article 41 of the Constitution of Ukraine stipulates that confiscation of property may be applied exclusively by a court decision in the cases, scope, and procedure established by law.
The court of first instance, taking into account the requirements of the above-mentioned legal provisions, concluded that PERSON_1, as a citizen of a foreign state, acquired ownership of an agricultural land plot and did not alienate it within the period established by Article 81 of the Land Code of Ukraine. Therefore, the ownership right to the disputed land plot is subject to termination by means of confiscation by a court decision in favor of the state, and the land plot itself is subject to sale at a land auction.
The decision of the Radiviliv District Court of Rivne Region dated February 5, 2024, in this part was not appealed, and therefore, pursuant to part two of Article 17 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine, it is also not subject to cassation review in this part.
At the same time, when filing a claim with the court, the head of the Dubno District Prosecutor’s Office, acting in the interests of the state represented by the Main Department of the StateGeoCadastre in Rivne Region, also requested to terminate the land lease agreement and the additional agreements thereto, in which PERSON_1 currently acts as the lessor, as well as to terminate the lease right of LLC “Radyvyliv Agro” to the disputed land plot.
In refusing to satisfy these claims, the appellate court based its decision on the fact that the lessor of an agricultural land plot, as a natural person, may only be a citizen of Ukraine. However, PERSON_1 is a citizen of the Russian Federation and therefore is not authorized to enter into transactions concerning the lease of agricultural land. The additional agreements dated November 8, 2018, and December 31, 2021, to the land lease agreement No. 412 dated October 15, 2008, concluded between the defendant and LLC “Radyvyliv Agro”, violate public order, as they concern an agricultural land plot that is national wealth and under special protection of the state. The owner of this land was a foreign citizen, who is prohibited by law from leasing such land, and therefore these transactions are null and void.
The panel of judges of the Supreme Court agrees with the conclusions of the appellate court on the following grounds.
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An analysis of the provisions of the Law of Ukraine “On Land Lease”, in particular Part 1 of Article 4 in conjunction with subparagraph “v” of Part 2 of Article 5 of this Law, provides grounds for the conclusion that foreign nationals cannot act as lessors of land plots.
In the reviewed case, it was established that PERSON_1 is a citizen of the Russian Federation. Therefore, under Ukrainian national legislation, she does not have the right to enter into lease agreements for agricultural land.
⭕️An agricultural land plot inherited by a foreign citizen and not alienated within one year is subject to confiscation by court decision. Any additional agreements to lease such a land plot, concluded by a foreign citizen acting as the lessor, are null and void as they violate public order and contradict the legal prohibition against foreigners serving as lessors of such land plots.
You can discuss the mentioned Resolution of the Supreme Court (Civil Cassation Court) in the group Urban Planning in Ukraine.
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