View source for Civil Code of Russia

{{Short description|Prime source of civil law for Russia}}
{{Infobox legislation
|short_title         = Civil Code of Russia
|legislature         = [[Parliament of Russia]]
|image               = File:Coat of Arms of the Russian Federation.svg
|imagesize           = 150px
|imagealt            = 
|caption             = 
|long_title          = 
|citation            = 
|territorial_extent  = [[Russia]]
|enacted_by          = [[Parliament of Russia]]
|date_enacted        = 
|date_passed         = 
|enacted_by2         = 
|date_enacted2       = 
|date_passed2        = 
|date_assented       = 
|date_signed         = 1994
|date_commenced      = 1 January 1995
|date_of_expiry      = 
|status             = in force
|signed_by=[[President of Russia]]
}}
The '''Civil Code of the Russian Federation''' ({{langx|ru|Гражданский кодекс Российской Федерации}}, frequently abbreviated 'ГК РФ') is the prime source of [[civil code|civil law]] for the [[Russian Federation]]. The Russian Civil Law system descended from [[Roman Law]] through [[Byzantine law|Byzantine]] tradition. It was heavily influenced by German and Dutch norms in the 18th and 19th centuries. Socialist-style modifications took place during the Soviet period (1922–1991) and Continental European Law influences since the 1990s.

The Civil Code of the Russian Federation came into force in four parts. The first part, which deals with general provisions (i.e. defines sources, names [[Juristic person|legal entities]] etc.) was enacted by the [[State Duma]] in 1994 and entered into force in 1995. The second part (dealing with the [[Law of obligations]]) entered into force in 1996. The third part ([[inheritance|Succession law]]) entered into force in 2002. The document has certain basic principles: equality of all participants guaranteed by civil law, inviolability of private property, [[freedom of contract]], free exercise of civil rights and juridical protection of [[civil rights]].

[[Copyright law of the Russian Federation#Part IV of the Civil Code|The fourth part]], dealing with [[intellectual property]], was [[Signed into law#Approval|signed into law]] on December 18, 2006 and came into force on January 1, 2008. Part IV became the first truly complete [[codification (law)|codification]] of the legislation on [[intellectual property]] in the world.

==The structure of the Civil Code==
* Part 1
** Section I: General provisions
** Section II: Ownership and other [[property law|proprietary interests]]
** Section III: The general part of the [[law of obligations]]
* Part 2
** Section IV: Specific types of [[Law of obligations|obligation]]s
* Part 3
** Section V: [[Inheritance law of Russia|Succession law]]
** Section VI: [[International private law]]
* Part 4
** Section VII: [[Intellectual property|The right to products of intellectual activity]] and [[trademark|means of individualization]]

Unlike most European civil codes, Russia's Civil Code does not cover [[family law]]. Instead, family law is dealt with in a [[Family Code of Russia|separate code]].

==History==
Since its foundation as an independent successor state of the former Soviet Union, the Russian Federation had been engaged in a large legislative project of developing a new Civil Code. In July 1994, President [[Boris Yeltsin]] signed a decree authorizing the "Establishment and Development of Private Law in Russia" program.<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.jurbase.ru/texts/sector162/tez62700.htm |title=Указ Президента РФ от 7 июля 1994 г. N 1473 "О программе "Становление и развитие частного права в России" |language=ru |access-date=2008-03-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003141111/http://www.jurbase.ru/texts/sector162/tez62700.htm |archive-date=2011-10-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The program called for a group of legal researchers, led by [[Sergei Alexeyev]], to create a new civil code for the nation. Initially, Russian politicians on all sides of the political spectrum opposed the idea of a Civil Code.<ref name="alekseev interview">{{Citation |url=http://www.uran.ru/gazetanu/2003/06/nu13/wvmnu_p4_13_062003.htm |script-title=ru:Через испытания |date=June 2003 |last=Fan |first=Irina |periodical=Nauka Urala |volume=13 |issue=841|language=ru}}</ref> It took significant effort to get first part of the Code approved by the State Duma — while the [[Federation Council of Russia|Federation Council]] voted ''against'' the Code. However, the Federation Council took longer than allowed by the [[Constitution of Russia|Constitution]] to come to its decision. This allowed Yeltsin to sign the Code into law. In other words, as Sergei Alexeyev put it, the Civil Code became law almost "by accident".<ref name="alekseev interview"/>

==See also==
* [[Law of the Russian Federation]]
* [[Criminal Code of Russia]]
* [[Offences Code of Russia]]
* [[Family Code of Russia]]
* [[Customs Code of Russia]]

==References==
<references />

==External links==
*Full text English translation of {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060303205731/http://www.russian-civil-code.com/ parts 1 to 3 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation]}}. Old edition on December 23, 2003, after this date many changes were made.
*Full text English translation of [https://web.archive.org/web/20111012141658/http://www.rupto.ru/en_site/policy_law/Civil_Code.pdf part 4 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation] made by [[Rospatent]] in 2011.
*Russian Federation, Federal law no. 231-{{lang|ru|ФЗ}} of 2006: ''[http://www.rg.ru/2006/12/22/kodeks-vvedenie-dok.html {{lang|ru|Федеральный закон Российской Федерации от 18 декабря 2006 г. N 231-Ф3 О введении в действие части четвертой Гражданского кодекса Российской Федерации}}]''. Law 231-FL of December 18, 2006: implementation act for part IV of the Civil Code. In Russian. URL last accessed 2010-07-13.

{{Civil codes by country|Europe}}

[[Category:Law of Russia]]
[[Category:Civil codes|Russia]]