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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms 
of the Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 4.0

1 National Academy of Statistics, Accounting and Audit, Ukraine;
All-Ukrainian Union "The National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine", Ukraine (corresponding author)
E-mail: kutsa_alla_85@ukr.net
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6633-9192
2 Institute of Postgraduate Education, O. Bogomolets National Medical University, Ukraine
E-mail: r.titikalo@gmail.com
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6406-8800
3 Institute of Law of Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman, Ukraine
E-mail: iemelianov.volodymyr@kneu.edu.ua
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0660-5241

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30525/2256-0742/2023-9-2-193-200

THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC ROLE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS  
IN THE FIELD OF GUARDIANSHIP AND CONSERVATORSHIP  

OF ADULTS IN UKRAINE
Alla Sotska1, Roman Tytykalo2, Volodymyr Iemelianov3

Abstract. Based on the content of Article 55 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, the task of guardianship and  
conservatorship of adult incapacitated persons and persons with limited legal capacity – is to ensure the  
personal non-property and property rights and interests of such persons, and as practice shows, there are  
currently a significant number of problems. The relevant problems are, inter alia, of a social and economic  
nature and affect a large number of subjects, with a special role being assigned to local self-government  
bodies, whose executive bodies, according to the definition of Ukrainian legislation, are guardianship and 
conservatorship bodies. This problem has a significant negative impact on the quality of life of adults in need 
of care and assistance, as well as on the exercise of relevant powers by local authorities. The above testifies  
to the usefulness of the study of the socio-economic role of local self-government bodies in the field of  
guardianship and conservatorship of adult incapacitated persons and persons with limited legal capacity.  
In this regard, an attempt was made to characterize the legislative basis and practical organization of the  
activities of local self-government bodies during their performance and powers of guardianship and  
conservatorship of adults, to determine and analyze the relevant duties, which, according to the results of 
the study, are proposed to be classified into three main groups (ensuring, protecting and defending the  
rights and legitimate interests of adults in need of guardianship and conservatorship; controlling and  
supervising the activities of guardianship and conservatorship entities (guardians, conservators and special 
institutions); controlling and supervising the preservation and management of property of persons under 
guardianship and conservatorship).

Key words: local self-government body, guardianship and conservatorship body, guardian, conservator, 
incapacitated person, person whose legal capacity is limited, property rights, non-property rights.

JEL Classification: H11, H30, H61, I38, R50, D72

1. Introduction
Ukraine is home to a significant number of people 

with mental and intellectual disabilities (for example, 
the World Health Organization speaks of 8 million 
Ukrainians with intellectual disabilities by the end 
of 2020 (Boyko, 2009)), some of whom have the 
legal status of incapacity or limited capacity (about 
50 thousand people).

One of the national means (widely used in many 
countries of the world) to provide these categories 
of people with favorable living conditions is the  

institution of guardianship and conservatorship.  
Its functioning is directly related to the activities  
of local self-government bodies, which are becoming 
more and more important in the conditions of 
decentralization in Ukraine in general and in connection 
with the socio-economic impact on the field of 
guardianship and conservatorship of adults in particular.

The advisability of the continued existence of the 
institution of guardianship and conservatorship 
of incapacitated persons and persons with limited 
legal capacity in Ukraine, as well as the institutes of  



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incapacity and limited legal capacity, has long been 
under great question and in the perspective of many 
discussions. However, currently the executive bodies 
of local self-government continue to exercise powers  
as guardianship and conservatorship bodies, and 
therefore the study of their place and role in this area  
(in particular, the socio-economic role) is relevant.

2. Research methodology

2.1. The level of scientific, theoretical  
and legislative support and problems,  
as well as the study of the socio-economic role 
of local governments in the field  
of guardianship and conservatorship of adults

Today, the state policy of Ukraine in the field of 
guardianship and conservatorship of adults and the 
practice of its implementation are characterized 
by a large number of problematic issues related 
to the administration in the mentioned field, the 
implementation of norms and provisions of the  
national legislation on relevant issues, in particular, 
concerning subjects of guardianship and conserva-
torship for incapacitated persons and persons with 
limited legal capacity, ensuring personal non-property 
and property rights and interests of persons in need  
of guardianship and conservatorship, and other  
related issues. One of the key subjects in the outlined 
context are local self-government bodies, whose 
executive bodies perform the role of guardianship  
and conservatorship bodies, especially for adults.

Taking into account the gaps, inconsistencies and 
contradictions in the national legislation on socio-
economic issues of the formation and implementation 
of state policy of the appropriate direction and the 
urgent need to prevent and eliminate the negative 
consequences caused by the above-mentioned  
problems and restore the violated rights and freedoms 
of subjects and legal relations in the researched area, 
the issue of the socio-economic role of local self-
government bodies in this area needs attention.

It is particularly noteworthy that Ukrainian  
scientists have paid and continue to pay attention to 
certain aspects of guardianship and conservatorship, 
but mostly children under the age of 18. However, 
relevant issues through the prism of the rights of  
adults are almost not reflected in various types of 
scientific works and publications, with the exception 
of research on civil and civil procedural law. Thus, this 
issue is both relevant and understudied. Such situation 
requires more and more attention, as the policy of 
decentralization in Ukraine continues, local self-
government bodies come to the fore in the context 
of implementation of a large number of directions  
of state policy, both their own framework and  
delegated powers.

2.2. Methodological features  
of the socio-economic role of local  
self-government bodies in the field  
of guardianship and conservatorship of adults

The article attempts to reveal the nature and 
peculiarities of the socio-economic role of local self-
government bodies in the field of guardianship and 
conservatorship of adults: the method of observation 
(used to follow the processes of implementation 
of powers by local self-government bodies in the  
researched area), scientific method (applied within 
the framework of research and use of the conceptual 
apparatus on the topic of the article), scientific 
abstraction (mainly used during the disclosure of 
the content of the powers of local self-government  
bodies in the field of guardianship and conserva- 
torship of adults), analytical method (played a key 
role in the formulation of conclusions and proposals 
on possible ways of improving the activities of local 
self-government bodies in the area of guardianship 
and conservatorship of adults), statistical method  
(according to the results of its application, it was 
possible to analyze statistical data on the number of 
adult incapacitated persons and persons whose legal 
capacity is limited, etc.).

The given list of used methods is not limited, but  
the above ones became decisive during the preparation 
of this article.

3. The role of local authorities in ensuring 
the implementation of state policy in the field 
of guardianship and conservatorship of adults: 
social and economic aspects

3.1. Legal regulation of guardianship  
and conservatorship of adult incapacitated 
persons and persons with limited legal capacity

Today in Ukraine the issues of guardianship and 
conservatorship of adults are regulated by the Civil  
Code of Ukraine (hereinafter – CC) (Civil Code 
of Ukraine), the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine 
(hereinafter – CPCU) (Civil Procedure Code 
of Ukraine), the Rules of Guardianship and 
conservatorship, approved by the Order of the 
State Committee of Ukraine on Family and Youth 
Matters, the Ministry of Education of Ukraine, the 
Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the Ministry of Labor 
and Social Policy of Ukraine dated May 26, 1999,  
No. 34/166/131/88 (registered in the Ministry of 
Justice of Ukraine on June 17, 1999 No. 387/3680) 
(hereinafter – the Rules) (On Approval of the Rules of 
Guardianship and Trusteeship) (valid only in the part 
of the provisions that do not contradict the CCU),  
as well as other normative legal acts on relevant issues.

The norms and provisions of these legislative acts 
concern at least 50,000 incapacitated persons and 



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persons with limited legal capacity, as well as thousands 
of persons related to them (relatives, guardians, 
custodians, employees of local self-government bodies 
and special institutions, etc.). At the same time, it 
should be taken into account that these statistics are 
more than five years old (more recent statistical data  
are not available, as they are not collected and  
analyzed) and do not take into account those who 
acquired the appropriate status during the specified 
period, primarily during the war, when the number of 
people with mental disorders and those whose status 
is established is growing daily and significantly.

3.2. Organization of activities of local  
self-government bodies in the exercise  
of powers (social, economic and other)  
in the field of guardianship  
and conservatorship

Going directly to the subject of this study, lets note 
that Article 56 of the CCU (Civil Code of Ukraine) 
district, district state administrations in the cities of 
Kyiv and Sevastopol, executive bodies of city, district  
in cities, village, village councils are defined as  
bodies of guardianship and conservatorship.

Namely, the executive bodies of local self- 
government at the level of cities, districts in cities, 
villages and settlements are authorized to exercise 
the powers of guardianship and conservatorship 
bodies. At the same time, it should be emphasized 
that the above-mentioned article does not specify 
the category of persons exercising such powers. The 
foregoing, as well as practical experience, leads to the 
conclusion that such persons include incapacitated 
adults and persons whose legal capacity is limited. As 
for the concept of "guardianship and conservatorship 
body ", it is suggested that it be understood as bodies  
defined by law, authorized to perform the functions  
of resolving issues of guardianship and conserva- 
torship of minors, as well as adults who, due to their 
state of health, cannot independently exercise their 
rights and perform their duties.

Article 34 of the Law of Ukraine "On Local Self-
Government in Ukraine" (The Law of Ukraine "On 
Local Self-Government in Ukraine") refers to the 
delegated powers of executive bodies of village, town 
and city councils to resolve issues of guardianship  
and conservatorship in accordance with the  
procedure established by law.

According to the definition of Article 1 of the Law 
of Ukraine, delegated are the powers of executive 
authorities granted to local self-government bodies  
by law, as well as the powers of local self-government 
bodies transferred to the respective local state 
administrations by the decision of district and 
regional councils (The Law of Ukraine "On Local Self-
Government in Ukraine"). In the field of guardianship 

and adult conservatorship, the relevant authority  
is the executive authority granted to local self-
government bodies.

Such delegation provides for accountability and 
control by the relevant bodies of executive power  
over the decisions of the executive bodies of local  
self-government authorities on issues of guardianship 
and conservatorship, in particular over adults.  
In turn, the state administrations of Kyiv and  
Sevastopol and the executive bodies of the higher 
councils shall manage the guardianship and 
conservatorship institutions and control their  
activities. Their respective functions are determined  
by subsection 1.9 of paragraph 1 of the Rules (On 
Approval of the Rules of Guardianship and Trusteeship).

It is also important to note that one of the economic 
components of the role of local self-government  
bodies in the person of their executive bodies in 
connection with the issue of guardianship and 
conservatorship of adult incapacitated persons and 
persons with limited legal capacity is the exercise 
of relevant powers by employees of these bodies 
at the expense of salary funds without additional 
payments for the sole purpose of managing issues of 
guardianship and conservatorship of adults.

According to paragraph 1.4 of item 1 of the Rules 
(On Approval of the Rules of Guardianship and 
Trusteeship), the direct management of matters  
related to guardianship and conservatorship is 
entrusted, within the limits of their competence,  
to the relevant departments and administrations  
of the local state administration of districts, districts 
of the cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol, executive 
bodies of city or district councils in cities. In 
settlements and villages, matters of guardianship 
and conserva-torship shall be dealt with directly by  
the executive authorities of the settlement and  
village councils.

With regard to the structural unit, which is  
responsible for the issue of guardianship and 
conservatorship for adults, the head of a specific  
body of guardianship and conservatorship must 
be determined. In practice, issues of guardianship 
and conservatorship are mainly dealt with by the  
structural subdivisions of social protection of the 
population and health care, or the corresponding  
tasks are even assigned to librarians (although in the 
case of librarians this situation is more the exception 
than the rule).

In order to support the work, paragraph 
1.6 of Section 1 of the Rules provides for the  
establishment of guardianship councils with  
advisory functions at guardianship and conserva- 
torship institutions. They include deputies, 
representatives of local executive and local self-
government bodies and the public (On Approval  
of the Rules of Guardianship and Trusteeship).



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3.3. Identification and analysis  
of responsibilities of local self-government 
bodies in the field of guardianship  
and conservatorship for adults

What are the specific powers of executive organs 
of local self-government as guardianship and 
conservatorship bodies in the field of guardianship  
and conservatorship of adults?

Analysis of the normative legal acts mentioned 
at the beginning of this article (Civil Code of  
Ukraine; Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine; On  
Approval of the Rules of Guardianship and  
Trusteeship), as well as some others (The Law of 
Ukraine "On Prevention and Counteraction to 
Domestic Violence"; 1On Approval of the Model 
Regulation on a Psychoneurological Boarding  
School), makes it possible to distinguish the 
following powers of the specified bodies:

1) Receiving information about natural persons in 
need of guardianship or conservatorship.

Natural and legal persons who are obliged to 
immediately inform the competent guardianship  
and conservatorship bodies in case of detection of  
an adult in need of guardianship or conservatorship 
include, among others, close relatives and other  
persons, medical and preventive institutions of 
psychiatric profile, judicial bodies, internal affairs 
bodies, civil registry bodies, notary offices, other 
institutions and organizations that have become  
aware of an adult in need of guardianship and 
conservatorship. 

2) Appeal to the court with a statement on:
– limitation of a person's civil capacity;
– recognition of a person as incapacitated;
– dismissal of a guardian or conservator in case such 
person fails to perform duties, violates the rights  
of the ward, as well as in case of placement of the ward  
in a health care or social protection institution;
– annulment of the court decision on the restriction  
of the legal capacity of an individual and restoration  
of the legal capacity of an individual whose legal  
capacity was restricted;
– reversal of a court decision recognizing an individual 
as incapacitated and restoration of civil capacity of an 
individual who has been recognized as incapacitated  
in case of recovery or significant improvement of his  
or her mental state.

3) Submission to the court of an application for 
extension of the term of the decision on recognition of 
an individual as incapacitated.

4) Submission to the court an application on:
– the possibility of appointing a person as a guardian 
or custodian of an adult person who is incompetent  
or whose civil capacity is limited.

First of all, in connection with this authority, it 
should be noted that at the present legislative level 

there is no clear list of documents on the basis  
of which the guardianship and conservatorship body 
prepares a petition to the court for the appointment 
of a person as a guardian or conservator of an 
adult incapacitated person or a person whose legal  
capacity is limited. Therefore, the list of such  
documents may be determined either by specific 
guardianship and conservatorship bodies or by 
their superior bodies, taking into account the legal 
requirements for the person of the guardian and 
conservator.

It should be noted that until March 22, 2005, 
when Article 60 of the CCU was amended by the 
Law of Ukraine No. 2450-VI "On Amendments to 
the Civil Code of Ukraine" dated March 3, 2005  
(The Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Civil 
Code of Ukraine"), the appointment of guardians 
and conservators over incapacitated persons and 
persons with limited legal capacity was carried out  
by guardianship and conservatorship bodies.

In addition, Article 138 of the Marriage and Family 
Code of Ukraine (expired on January 1, 2004) 
(Marriage and Family Code of Ukraine) provided  
for the possibility of appointing a guardian at the 
request of an adult of legal capacity who, due to  
his/her health condition, is unable to independently 
defend his/her rights and fulfill his/her obligations 
(today the Institute of the Guardian is in operation, 
the functioning mechanism of which is regulated by 
Article 78 of the CCU). Therefore, guardianship and 
conservatorship bodies had the right to make such 
decisions only until January 1, 2004. Therefore, it 
is important to note that currently the grounds and 
procedure for dismissal of guardians are provided  
for in Article 75 of the CCU. As can be seen from  
the content of the first part of the above-mentioned 
article, the guardianship body, if it has appointed 
a guardian, may by its decision release a person from 
the powers of the guardian on the basis of his or  
her application.

In addition, in violation of the norms of national 
legislation in the field of guardianship and 
conservatorship of adult incapacitated persons and 
persons with limited legal capacity, guardianship 
and conservatorship bodies made decisions on the 
appointment of guardians and conservators for  
adults, in particular: 1) as of January 1, 2004 – on 
issues of appointment of guardians and conservators 
for adults with legal capacity, in violation of Articles 60  
and 63 of the CCU; 2) as of April 6, 2006 – on issues 
of appointment of guardians and conservators for  
adults with legal capacity, incapacitated persons and 
persons whose legal capacity is limited, in violation  
of Article 60 of the CCU and Article 241 of the CPCU.

In practice, guardians and conservators use 
appropriate decisions when exercising authority over 
their wards, in particular, when registering pension 



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payments, state benefits, resolving property issues,  
etc. To confirm the scale of the problem, in the  
period from March 22, 2005 to April 6, 2006, 
guardianship and conservatorship bodies issued more 
than 600 decisions on the appointment of guardians 
and conservators for adults.

At the end of the topic on the appointment of 
guardians and custodians, it should be noted that 
according to the Article 59 of the Law of Ukraine "On 
Local Self-Government in Ukraine" (On Approval 
of the Rules of Guardianship and Trusteeship), 
acts of bodies and officials of local self-government 
are recognized in court as illegal due to their  
inconsistency with the Constitution or laws of Ukraine:
– replacement of a guardian or conservator if the 
guardian or conservator is not entitled to conduct  
a case in court on the grounds established by law.

In connection with the aforementioned right to 
file a petition with the court, it should be noted that 
in accordance with the content of the first part of  
Article 60 of the CCU (Civil Code of Ukraine)  
and the first part of Article 300 of the CPCU (Civil 
Procedure Code of Ukraine), the guardian of an adult 
incapacitated person and the guardian of a person  
with limited legal capacity are appointed by the 
court upon the request of the guardianship and 
conservatorship body. At the same time, Article 122  
of the CPCU (Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine) 
stipulates that a judge shall institute proceedings in  
a civil case only on the basis of a petition filed and 
executed in the manner provided by this Code.  
Pursuant to the first part of Article 13 of the CPCU 
(Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine), the court  
shall consider a civil case within the limits of the 
requirements specified by the person in his/her 
application. At the same time, the legislation does 
not establish the obligation of guardianship and 
conservatorship bodies to apply to the court for 
the appointment of a guardian for an incapacitated  
person, and the guardian is limited to a competent 
person, as well as restrictions on the right of 
a person to apply to the court for the appointment of  
his/her guardian.

5) Issuance of a permit:
– to the guardian for the execution of transactions 
concerning: a) relinquishment of property rights of 
the guardian; b) provision of written commitments 
on behalf of the guardian; c) conclusion of contracts 
requiring notarization and/or state registration, 
including contracts on division or exchange of a 
residential building, apartment; d) conclusion of 
contracts on other valuable property;
– to the guardian for consent to the person's transac-
tions regarding: a) waiver of the person's property 
rights; b) written commitments on their own behalf; 
c) conclusion of agreements subject to notarization 
and/or state registration, including agreements on  

the division or exchange of a residential house or 
apartment; d) conclusion of agreements regarding  
other valuable property.

It is important to note that a transaction made  
without the permission of the guardianship and 
conservatorship authority is invalid. At the request  
of the interested person, such a transaction may be 
recognized by the court as valid if it is established 
that it is in the interests of the individual over  
whom guardianship or conservatorship has been 
established (Civil Code of Ukraine).

6) Dismissal:
– at the request of the guardianship and conserva- 
torship body, if the relevant guardianship and 
conservatorship body has appointed a guardian or 
conservator;
– at the request of the person over whom  
guardianship has been established, the guardian from 
his/her authority, if the corresponding guardianship 
and conservatorship body has appointed a guardian.

7) Guardianship or conservatorship over an adult 
until a guardian or conservator is appointed or until 
such person is placed in a special institution.

8) Requiring reports from guardians and conservators.
In connection with the above-mentioned powers 

of local self-government bodies in relation to the  
reporting of guardians and conservators, it is necessary 
to express solidarity with the position of M. Boyko, 
who points out that the guardianship bodies are 
not obliged to check the annual reports in kind.  
Therefore, only in a few cases these bodies are able to 
notice the carelessness or intention of the guardians 
in time and, by removing them from the guardianship 
duties, prevent the death or damage to property. 
Meanwhile, identifying the wrongful actions of 
guardians who have already caused harm to the ward 
almost never helps to compensate them. The fact 
is that the guardian usually does not have sufficient  
funds to compensate for the damages caused.  
In order to protect the property interests of the 
ward, the Board of Guardians examines the report  
from the point of view of the correctness of  
calculations and factual accuracy, and may correct  
and supplement the report. At the same time, 
the legislation provides that claims disputed in 
the relationship between the guardian and the  
ward may be submitted to the court for consideration 
even before the end of the guardianship relationship 
(Boyko, 2009).

9) Reviewing complaints regarding the actions of 
guardians and conservators.

10) Supervising the activities of guardians and 
conservators.

11) Monitoring the activities of guardians and 
conservators.

With regard to the control over the activities of  
guardians and conservators, it is necessary to take  



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into account certain financial aspects of the relevant 
legal relationship and their importance in the context 
of the protection of the property rights of adults  
under guardianship and conservatorship. The  
purpose of such control is to verify that the activities 
of guardians and conservators comply with national 
legislation and to ensure that there are no risks 
for their wards. According to subsection 4.14 of 
Paragraph 4 of the Rules (On Approval of the Rules  
of Guardianship and Trusteeship), the control  
over the activities of guardians and conservators is 
carried out by guardianship and conservatorship  
bodies with the participation of the public through 
scheduled visits to persons under guardianship.  
The frequency of visits shall be determined by  
a separate schedule, but not less than once a year, 
except for the first visit, which shall be made three 
months after the establishment of the guardianship  
and conservatorship. The schedule shall be  
established by a specific guardianship body.  
If necessary, the results of the inspections are  
brought to the meeting of the Board of Guardians 
in order to take appropriate measures. The form of  
control over the activity of guardians and  
conservators is also the collection, analysis and 
verification of reports of guardians and conservators.  
The issue of reporting on guardianship and 
conservatorship is regulated by subsection 4.11 of 
Paragraph 4 of the Rules (On Approval of the Rules  
of Guardianship and Trusteeship).

In addition, based on the content of the powers 
of guardianship and conservatorship bodies, these  
bodies must also control, in the manner determined  
by them, the exercise of guardianship and 
conservatorship over adults by special institutions;

12) Making a decision on placement in 
a psychoneurological boarding school for persons  
with disabilities.

13) Exercising powers in the field of preventing 
and combating domestic violence in relation to 
incapacitated persons and persons with limited legal 
capacity, including:
– solving the problem of social services for an 
injured person who is a disabled person, if no legal  
representative has been appointed for such a person, 
or if the legal representative is a criminal or evades  
the protection of the rights and interests of such a 
person;
– giving consent to enter personal data of a disabled 
person who has reported the act of violence or  
who is a victim in the Unified State Register of  
Cases of Domestic and Gender-Based Violence,  
if the legal representative of such a person is a  
perpetrator or evades the protection of the rights and 
interests of a disabled person;
– placement of an injured person who is an incapa- 
citated person in a social protection institution if,  

in connection with the perpetration of domestic 
violence, the residence of such a person in a family 
or with a guardian poses a threat to his/her life and  
health;
– taking measures to provide compulsory psychiatric 
care for an incompetent person who is a perpetrator 
of domestic violence, if such a person's residence in  
a family or with a guardian poses a threat to the  
life and health of the family members or guardian;
– to bring before the court, in accordance with the 
procedure established by law, the issue of release  
from the powers of a guardian or conservator in the 
case of domestic violence committed by them against  
a person who is incapacitated or has limited legal 
capacity;
– protection of rights and representation of interests 
of the injured person who is a disabled person in state 
authorities, local self-government bodies or in court  
(if necessary);
– violation before bodies of executive power and  
bodies of local self-government of the issue of  
holding officials accountable in the manner  
established by law in case of non-performance or 
improper performance of duties by them, when 
identifying and working with injured persons,  
disabled persons or persons with limited civil capacity;
– implementation of other measures provided for  
by law in the field of prevention of and fight  
against domestic violence in relation to disabled  
persons and persons with limited civil capacity or  
with their participation.

14) Appointment of a manager of the property  
of an individual entrepreneur recognized as 
incapacitated or whose civil capacity is limited,  
which was used in entrepreneurial activity, and 
conclusion of an agreement with the manager on  
the management of this property.

15) Control over the activities of a property  
manager of an individual entrepreneur who has been 
recognized as incapacitated or whose civil capacity is 
limited, in accordance with the rules for controlling 
the activities of a guardian and conservator.

16) Establishment of guardianship over the 
property of a person over whom guardianship or  
conservatorship has been established, which property  
is not located at the place of residence of such person.

Legislation does not specify the conditions for 
establishing guardianship over property. As a rule,  
the norms of Article 74 of the CCU are applied 
in the case of guardianship or conservatorship of 
an incapacitated person or a person whose legal  
capacity is limited by a guardianship and conserva-
torship body or a special institution, if no guardian 
has been appointed for the person. The establishment 
of guardianship over property is formalized by  
a decision (order) of the guardianship and 
conservatorship body.



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17) Execution of appropriate documents concerning 

the person of the ward and the property over which  
the guardianship is established.

18) To appeal to the court against the actions  
of the executor of the will if they do not comply with the 
law and violate the interests of the incapacitated heirs.

19) Keeping records of persons in need of  
guardianship and conservatorship.

In connection with this body, it should be noted  
that the procedure for keeping such records is not 
currently regulated by law. In this regard, the keeping 
of records of persons in need of guardianship and 
conservatorship may be determined either by specific 
guardianship and conservatorship bodies or by the 
regional and Kyiv City State Administration and 
executive bodies of the Supreme Council. At the  
same time, in accordance with the content of  
sub-paragraph 3.5 of Paragraph 3 of the Rules,  
a special file issued for the ward at the time of 
the establishment of guardianship is kept in the  
guardianship and conservatorship bodies at the 
ward's place of residence (On Approval of the Rules 
of Guardianship and Trusteeship). Therefore, if the 
ward changes his place of residence, his personal 
file must be transferred to the guardianship and 
conservatorship body at the new place of residence 
and, accordingly, such a person must be taken into 
account by this body in relation to persons in need of 
guardianship and conservatorship. Upon the death 
of an adult incapacitated person or a person with  
limited legal capacity, such person shall be 
removed from the Register of Persons in Need of  
Guardianship and Conservatorship.

20) Direct guardianship and conservatorship 
proceedings.

21) Maintaining a register of personal files of  
wards, an alphabetical book and a file cabinet.

22) Taking measures to protect the personal and 
property rights of persons under guardianship and 
conservatorship.

23) Participating in court proceedings related  
to the protection of the rights of persons under 
guardianship and conservatorship.

24) Protection and preservation of housing and 
property of wards.

25) Restrictions, if necessary to protect the 
interests of the ward, on the right of the guardian or  
conservator to dispose of the deposit made by anyone 
in the name of the ward.

26) Require the guardian or conservator to 
compensate for property damage caused to the person 
whose guardianship or conservatorship has been 
terminated as a result of the guardian's or conservator's 
dishonest or negligent performance of duties.

27) Carrying out other activities to ensure the  
rights and interests of adults in need of guardianship  
and conservatorship.

The generalization and analysis of the above-
mentioned powers of local self-government bodies 
in relation to the performance by their executive  
bodies of the role of guardianship and conserva- 
torship bodies provides grounds for the conclusion 
of the three key tasks of these bodies, performed  
by them in the direction of ensuring, protecting  
and safeguarding the personal non-property and 
property rights and interests of adult incapacitated 
persons and persons with limited legal capacity.  
In particular, it is about:
– ensuring, protecting and defending the rights and 
legitimate interests of adults who need guardianship  
or conservatorship but do not have the legal status  
of an incapacitated person or a person whose legal 
capacity is limited, as well as adults who have been 
granted such status in a court of law;
– control and supervision of the activities of  
subjects of guardianship and conservatorship 
(guardians and conservators, special institutions)  
other than guardianship and conservatorship bodies  
for the purpose of their proper performance of 
guardianship and conservatorship duties over adults;
– control and supervision of the maintenance and 
management of the property of persons under 
guardianship and conservatorship.

The above information provides grounds for 
concluding that local self-government bodies play  
a key socio-economic role in the field of  
guardianship and conservatorship of adult  
incapacitated and partially incapacitated persons, 
especially considering that the relevant powers must 
by their nature be exercised by the state, but with the 
aim of increasing their efficiency and effectiveness 
are delegated to local self-government bodies that  
are "closer" to the community and individuals.

As a matter of fact, if one or another local self-
government body does not perform or performs 
improperly its functions in the field of guardianship 
and conservatorship of adults, it can have extremely 
negative consequences for such persons, related,  
for example, to those real risks of loss, damage or 
bringing into unsuitability of the property of an 
adult who is under guardianship or conservatorship, 
if the guardianship and conservatorship body does 
not take measures to protect the rights and legitimate 
interests of such person.

In order to prevent such negative consequences, 
the institution of responsibility of local self- 
government bodies, depending on the nature 
of violations committed by them, operates as a  
guardianship and conservatorship body.

4. Conclusions
Summarizing, it should be noted that the existing 

legislative regulation of the organization and activity 



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Vol. 9 No. 2, 2023
of local self-government bodies as guardianship  
bodies does not fully resolve the issue of  
determining the legal status of such bodies in general 
and their socio-economic role in the researched  
area in particular.

Bodies of guardianship and conservatorship are  
not personalized and are not defined in the structure  
of local state authorities and local self-government 

bodies, which is a significant obstacle on the 
way to achieving the goal of guardianship and  
conservatorship of adult incapacitated persons 
and persons with limited legal capacity, ensuring  
personal non-property and property rights and  
interests of adults who, due to their health  
condition, are unable to independently exercise  
their rights and fulfill their duties.

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Received on: 09th of March, 2023
Accepted on: 28th of April, 2023
Published on: 23th of May, 2023