Law on expropriation passed despite presidential veto

The Verkhovna Rada has succeeded in overriding the President’s veto on the Law on expropriation of private land for public needs. 326 National Deputies voted for it.

The President had stated that the law did not offer a real mechanism for protecting the rights of private owners when land is being expropriated.

The law allows State executive bodies and bodies of local self-government to buy up land sites and constructions on them which are owned by individuals or legal entities.

The list of “public needs” entitling them to take this decision seems very long.  Aside from ensuring national security, it includes

-        the construction and servicing of transmission lines, transport and energy industry infrastructure; of hydraulic engineering structures; of gas and oil wells;

-        diplomatic representations of foreign states and international organizations;

-        buildings etc for the authorities and bodies of local self-government; buildings, constructions, and other production-based items of State or municipal ownership;

If an owner has not consented to the purchase within a year, the land etc can be forcibly expropriated into state or municipal ownership.

From information reported at www.pravda.com.ua