Shpuganych I. Charitable organizations as subjects of civil law

The thesis is devoted to the study of the charitable organizations’ legal status as subjects of civil law. Such organizations are claimed to be non-commercial legal entities of private law, the main purpose of which is carrying out charitable activity. The author analyzes charitable organization’s features and divides them into two groups: general and special. It is revealed that all legal entities are endowed with general features, but special features characterize charitable organizations as special subjects of civil law. Particular attention is paid to the study of the concept and essential characteristics of charity as charitable organization’s purpose. Based on the conducted analysis of regulatory definition of charitable activity, the following features are pointed out: 1) voluntariness; 2) providing in the form of personal and/or property assistance; 3) non-entrepreneurial character; 4) target orientation. Furthermore the issue of spheres and types of charitable activity is considered in details. It is argued that defined in the Law of Ukraine "On Charitable Activities and Charitable Organizations" types of charitable activity are essentially the ways of its carrying out. It is stated that charitable organizations have the right to conduct charitable activity, choosing the types and methods not prohibited by law, which justifies the inexpediency of establishing the clear list of charitable activity’s types on a legislative level. A particular chapter of the thesis is devoted to the study of the legal regime of charitable organizations’ property. The provision on the order of the usage of charitable organization’s assets (revenues) for covering administrative expenses has been improved. The position on the appropriateness of the legislative provisions’ detalization regarding the usage of income (profit) from the carried out economic activity is expressed. It is substantiated that such income (profit) is aimed at achieving the main goal, covering administrative expenses and is not subject to the distribution among founders, participants, employees (except for the payment of their labor, accrual of a single social contribution), members of the organization’s management bodies and other people related with them. The thesis contains a detailed analysis of such legal category as a charitable endowment. It is stressed that the inappropriate legal regulation of relations concerning the formation and management of charitable endowments results in the absence of its practical use. It is offered to expand the object and subject structure of these legal relations, thus, to enable charitable organizations to create endowments independently at the expense of funds, securities and other movable and immovable properties and transfer them to management on the basis of the contract. Moreover the procedure of a charitable organization’s termination as a legal entity of private law enshrined in the legislation of Ukraine is highlighted in the dissertation research. Particular attention is paid to the issue of meeting the requirements of the charitable organization’s creditors, as well as the study of the problem of ensuring the legal benefactors’ and beneficiaries’ rights and interests, obligations that have not been fulfilled at the moment of making the decision about liquidation.