THE PRINCIPLE OF PROPORTIONALITY AS A FUNDAMENTAL CATEGORY OF CIVIL LAW: A COMPARATIVE LEGAL STUDY OF EUROPEAN APPROACHES AND UKRAINIAN LEGAL PRACTICE

Abstract

Introduction. In the current context of the transformation of Ukraine’s legal system, driven by internal socio-economic changes and European integration processes, re-examining the fundamental principles of civil law has taken on particular significance. The principle of proportionality serves as a key instrument for ensuring a balance between private and public interests, enabling a reasonable relationship to be achieved between the objective of legal intervention and the means of its implementation. The increasing complexity of civil legal relations and the existence of competing rights necessitate a shift away from purely formal-legal approaches in favour of the application of evaluative categories, among which proportionality plays a decisive role.

Comparative legal analysis of this principle is of particular academic significance, as the European legal tradition has developed a sophisticated doctrine regarding its application as an independent criterion for assessing the lawfulness of interference with human rights. For Ukraine, this is of great importance in the context of harmonising legislation with European standards and improving judicial practice, which is currently characterised by fragmentation in the application of proportionality. A comprehensive study of this principle contributes to the formation of uniform approaches to law enforcement, enhances the soundness of judicial decisions, and promotes the overall development of civil law doctrine.

Purpose. The aim of this study is to conduct a comprehensive examination of the principle of proportionality as a fundamental category of civil law through a comparative legal analysis of European doctrinal approaches and their application in practice, particularly in European Union law and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, as well as to identify the specific features of the implementation and application of this principle in Ukrainian legal practice with a view to identifying problems, development trends and justifying directions for improving national civil legislation and judicial practice.

Materials and methods. The study employs a range of general scientific and legal methods, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of the issue under consideration. In particular, the dialectical method was used to examine the evolution of the principle of proportionality and its transformation in the context of the development of European and national legal systems; the formal-legal method was applied to analyse the codification of the principle of proportionality in the provisions of Ukrainian civil legislation and international legal instruments; the comparative legal method became a key research tool, as it was on this basis that a comparison was made between European doctrinal approaches and the practice of their application with Ukrainian legal practice; the systemic-structural method was used to reveal the internal structure of the principle of proportionality, in particular through an analysis of its three-stage test; the hermeneutic method provided for the interpretation of legal norms and judicial practice, primarily in the context of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights; and the method of generalisation and analysis of judicial practice made it possible to identify the main trends, problems and peculiarities of the application of the principle of proportionality in the activities of Ukrainian courts. 

Results. A comparative legal analysis shows that, within the European legal system, the principle of proportionality has attained a high level of conceptualisation and functional maturity, functioning as a fundamental category with a clear structure and established practice of application. Its implementation through a three-step test ensures consistency and predictability in the application of the law, whereas in Ukrainian civil law this principle is still in its infancy, remaining dependent on such evaluative categories as fairness, reasonableness and good faith, which results in its fragmented application.

At the same time, the existing differences open up opportunities for the further development of the national legal system, in particular through the implementation of European approaches, the introduction of a structured proportionality test, and the unification of judicial practice. This will contribute to improving the quality of law enforcement, strengthening the role of the principle of proportionality as an independent criterion for assessing interference with private rights, and the general modernisation of civil law doctrine.

Discussion. Prospects for further research lie in the in-depth development of a doctrinal model of the principle of proportionality in Ukrainian civil law, in particular through the adaptation and implementation of a structured three-step test characteristic of the European legal tradition. Another important area is the empirical analysis of judicial practice with a view to standardising approaches to the application of this principle and enhancing the level of reasonableness and predictability of court decisions.