The concept and features of a preliminary contract in civil law

The current civil legislation of Ukraine stipulates the division of civil law contracts into preliminary and main ones. Contracts that are directly aimed at the emergence of rights and obligations between the participants of a specific contract are considered basic. Instead, contracts should be considered preliminary, the parties to which undertake to enter into a contract in the future (main contract) on the terms established by the previous contract (part 1 of Article 635 of the Civil Code of Ukraine) within a certain period of time (at a certain time). Preliminary contracts should be distinguished from contracts of intent, since in the latter only the intention of the parties to enter into contractual relations in the future is established, without the obligation to conclude a contract in the future. However, the practice of applying previous contracts indicates insufficient regulation of the scope of conclusion and application of the previous contract in practice. At the same time, the conclusion of a preliminary agreement is common in the field of real estate acquisition, in particular, the certification of a preliminary agreement with the participation of a notary. The possibility and procedure of concluding preliminary contracts are regulated by the Civil Code of Ukraine. The contract is the main basis for the emergence of civil legal obligations. It should be noted that a civil law contract is the main basis for the emergence of bindinglegal relations (obligations), which establishes certain subjective rights and subjective duties for the parties who concluded it. A contract can be defined as an agreement between two or more persons aimed at establishing, changing or terminating civil legal relations. The subject of the contract is always a certain action, but this action can only be lawful. If the subject of the contract is an unlawful act, i.e. illegal, then such a contract is recognized as invalid. The contract is considered valid if the following conditions are met: legality of the action; manifestation of will of the parties; compliance with the form of the contract established by law; legal capacity and legal capacity of the parties. The main element of every contract is the will of the parties, aimed at achieving a certain goal that does not contradict the law.