Russia

Section 1. General

Subsection 1. General Provisions

Chapter 1 - Civil Legislation

Article 1. Basic principles of civil legislation

Civil legislation proceeds from recognizing the equality of participants in relations regulated thereby, inviolability of property, freedom of contract, inadmissibility of someone's intervention in private affairs, necessity for civil rights to be freely exercised, ensuring restoration of violated rights and their judicial protection.
Citizens (individuals) and legal persons acquire and exercise their civil rights willfully and to their benefit. They are free to set their rights and responsibilities on a contractual basis and to stipulate new contract terms and conditions unless these are contrary to legislation. Civil rights can be restricted on the basis of federal law and only to the extent deemed necessary to protect foundations of constitutional order, morality, health, rights and lawful interests of other people and to ensure national defence and security of the state.
Goods, services and financial resources can freely move within the entire territory of the Russian Federation. Restrictions as to the movement of goods and services can be imposed in accordance with federal law if so required for the purposes of ensuring security, protection of people's lives and health, conservation of nature and protection of cultural values.

Article 2. Relations regulated by civil legislation

Civil legislation defines the legal status of participants in civil circulation, grounds for the rise and order for the exercise of property right and other real rights, exclusive rights to the results of intellectual work (intellectual property), regulates contractual and other obligations, as well as other proprietary and related personal non-propriety relations based on the equality, autonomy of will and propriety independence of their participants.
Participants in relations regulated by civil legislation include citizens and legal persons. Also, the Russian Federation, Russian Federation subjects and municipal formations can participate in relations regulated by civil legislation (article 124).
Civil legislation regulates relations between persons engaged in entrepreneurial activities or participating in them where it proceeds from the concept that an activity is entrepreneurial if it is carried on independently and at one's own risk and is aimed at regular profit-making through using property, selling goods, performing jobs and providing services by persons registered in this quality according to the procedure established by the law.
The rules laid down by civil legislation apply to relations in which foreign citizens and foreign legal persons are participants unless otherwise provided for by federal law.
Inalienable human rights and freedoms and other immaterial goods are protected by civil legislation unless it follows differently from the nature of these immaterial goods.
Civil legislation does not apply to property relations based on administrative or other authoritative subordination of one party to another, including tax and other financial relations unless otherwise stipulated by the legislation.

Article 3. Civil legislation and other acts containing civil law norms

According to the Russian Federation Constitution, civil legislation falls within competence of the Russian Federation.
Civil legislation consists of this Code and other federal laws adopted in line with it (hereafter referred to as "laws") which regulate relations specified in pts. 1 and 2, art. 2 of this Code.
Relations specified in pts. 1 and 2, article 2 of this Code can also be regulated by Russian Federation Presidential edicts which must not contravene this Code and other laws.
On the basis and in fulfilment of this Code, other laws and Russian Federation Presidential edicts, the Russian Federation government has the right to pass enactments containing civil law norms.
If a Russian Federation Presidential edict or Russian Federation governmental enactment conflicts with this Code or some other law, this Code or relevant law shall be applied.
Operation and application of the civil law norms contained in Russian Federation residential edicts and Russian Federation governmental enactments (hereafter referred to as "other legal acts) are determined by the rules set in this chapter.
Ministries and other executive federal agencies can issue acts containing civil law norms only in the cases and within the limits specified by this Code, other laws and other legal acts.

Article 4. Duration of civil legislation.

Civil legislation acts are not retroactive and apply to relations arising after they have come into effect. A law applies to relations which had arisen prior to its coming into effect only in the instances immediately provided for by the law.
As to the relations arising before a civil legislation act comes into effect, the latter applies to the rights and duties which arise after its enactment. The parties' relations under a contract signed before the civil legislation act comes into effect are regulated according to article 422 of this Code.

Article 6. Application of civil legislation by analogy.

In the cases where relations specified by pts. 1 and 2 in article 2 of this Code are not directly regulated by the legislation or by the parties' agreement and there is no applicable business custom, civil legislation regulating similar relations (analogy of the statute) is applied to such relations unless this is contrary to their essence.
If it is impossible to use the statute analogy, the parties' rights and duties are determined proceeding from general principles and tenor of civil legislation (analogy of the law), as well as requirements of conscientious, reason and justice.

Article 7. Civil legislation and international law norms.

Universally recognized principles and norms of international law and international agreements signed by the Russian Federation are, according to the Russian Federation Constitution, part of Russian Federation's legal system.
International agreements of the Russian Federation are directly applicable to relations mentioned in pts. 1 and 2, article 2 of this Code except in the cases when it follows from the international agreement that its application requires issuing a national act. If an international agreement of the Russian Federation establishes rules differing from those provided for by civil legislation, then the international agreement rules shall apply.

Chapter 2

Arising of civil rights and duties, exercise and protection of civil rights.

Article 8. Grounds for the arising of civil rights and duties

Civil rights and duties arise from the grounds provided for by the law and other legal acts, as well as from actions of citizens and legal persons which, though not stipulated by the law and such acts, give rise to civil rights and duties by virtue of general principles and tenor of civil legislation.
Accordingly, civil rights and duties arise:
- from contracts and other transactions provided for by the law, as well as contracts and other transactions that, not being provided for by the law, do not contravene it;
- from acts by state agencies and local self-government bodies stipulated by the law as grounds for the rise of civil rights and duties;
- from a judicial decision that has established civil rights and duties;
- as the result of acquiring property on grounds permitted by the law;
- as the result of creating works of science, literature, art, inventions and other products of intellectual activity;
- on account of damage inflicted on some other person;
- on account of unjust enrichment;
- on account of other actions by citizens and legal persons;
- on account of events to which the law or other legal act relates the ensuing of civil and legal consequences.
Property rights that are subject to state registration arise from the time the proper property rights have been registered unless otherwise stipulated by the law.

Article 9. Exercise of civil rights.

Citizens and legal persons exercise at their discretion the civil rights belonging to them.
Refusal by citizens and legal persons to exercise their rights does not entail termination of these rights except in the cases specified by the law.

Article 11. Judicial protection of civil rights see also Remedies

Protection of violated or disputed civil rights is carried out by the court of law, court of arbitration or arbitration tribunal (hereafter referred to as "court") according to the jurisdiction for cases laid down by procedural legislation.
Protecting civil rights administrative is possible only in the cases specified by the law. An administrative made decision can be appealed to the court.

Article 155. Duties Regarding Unilateral Transaction

A unilateral transaction shall create duties for the person who has concluded the transaction. It may create duties for other persons only in the instances established by law or by agreement with those persons.

Article 156. Legal Regulation of Unilateral Transactions

The general provisions on obligations and on contracts shall respectively apply to unilateral transactions insofar as this is not contrary to law or to the unilateral character and essence of the transaction.

Chapter 27. Concept and Conditions of Contract

Article 420. Concept of Contract

A contract shall be deemed to be an agreement of two or several persons concerning the establishment, change, or termination of civil rights and duties.
The rules for bilateral and multilateral transactions provided for by Chapter 9 of this Code shall apply to contracts.
The general provisions on obligations (Articles 307 to 419) shall apply to obligations which arose from a contract unless otherwise provided by rules of this Chapter and by rules on individual types of contracts contained in this Code.
The general provisions on contract shall apply to contracts concluded by more than two parties unless this is contrary to the multilateral character of such contracts.

Article 421. Freedom of Contract.See also Agreed Obligations Mandatory Obligations

Citizens and legal entities shall be free in concluding a contract. Coercion to conclude a contract shall not be permitted except for instances when the duty to conclude a contract has been provided for by this Code, by a law, or by a voluntarily accepted obligation.
The parties may conclude a contract which is either provided for or is not provided for by a law or other legal acts.
The parties may conclude a contract which contains elements of various contracts provided for by a law or other legal acts (mixed contact). The rules on contracts whose elements are contained in a mixed contract shall apply in respective parts to the relations of the parties under a mixed contract unless it follows otherwise from the agreement of the parties or the essence of the mixed contract.
The conditions of a contract shall be determined at discretion of the parties except for instances when the content of the respective condition has been prescribed by a law or other legal acts (Article 422).
In instances when a condition of a contract has been provided for by a norm which applies insofar as not established otherwise by agreement of the parties (dispositive norm), the parties may by their agreement exclude the application thereof or establish a condition which differs from that provided therein. In the absence of such agreement, the condition of the contract shall be determined by the dispositive norm.
If a condition of a contract has not been determined by the parties or by a dispositive norm, the respective conditions shall be determined by the customs of business usage applicable to the relations of the parties.

Article 422. Contract and Law