Is the rector obliged to provide the charter of the community upon request?

Due to the persecution of communities, priests are afraid to provide charters. Photo: UOJ

Recently, UOC Orthodox communities have increasingly faced demands to provide the charter or other founding documents – from utility services, notaries, banks, and even private individuals. Many rectors and community members are concerned: are they obligated to do this? Is there a risk of information leaks or abuse?

UOJ received a query from a reader: "I want to share our situation. The Regional Electric Service (RES) is demanding that we re-sign the contract, and they need documents, but most importantly, they want a photocopy of our religious organization's charter. Even though we haven’t made any changes to the charter or re-registered it. What is this? Is it related to the ban on our UOC?"

UOJ reached out to legal experts to clarify this situation.

Legal explanation

Ukrainian law does not contain a direct provision that obligates one legal entity to provide its charter to another when signing a contract. However, current Ukrainian legislation ties the validity of contracts to the presence of authority (the scope of civil capacity) of its signatories. If a contract is signed by a person who did not have the necessary authority to do so, such a contract may be disputed and recognized in court as void from the moment of its signing, not creating any legal consequences except those related to its invalidity. This conclusion follows, in particular, from Part 4 of Article 92 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, as well as from court practice.

Establishing the representative's right to sign a contract is only possible by verifying the founding and authorizing documents, among which the current charter is the primary founding document that also establishes the authority of the head of the religious organization. This is why, for the purpose of verifying the representative's authority, parties to a contract pay attention to the charter and may request a copy of it.

Conclusion:

Although the law does not explicitly require the provision of the charter, in practice, the requirement to provide a copy of the charter when signing a contract is common, legitimate, and justified in terms of ensuring legal certainty and verifying the representative's authority.

This contributes to the transparency of contractual relationships and reduces the risks of the contract being declared void due to the representative exceeding their authority.

According to Ukrainian legislation and court practice, the consumption of electricity without a valid energy supply contract is considered a violation that may serve as grounds for power disconnection.

The Rules of the Retail Electricity Market, approved by the Resolution of March 14, 2018, No. 312 of the National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Public Utilities, stipulate that "the consumer of electricity is obliged to use electricity exclusively on the basis of a contract (contracts)" (Clause 5.5.5.1). The absence of such a contract is considered unauthorized consumption, which is a violation. This is confirmed by court practice, for example, in the rulings of the Supreme Court dated March 19, 2021, in case No. 908/3049/19, and September 25, 2023, in case No. 536/898/20, the court concluded that electricity consumption without a signed contract is a violation that may serve as grounds for power disconnection.

The Supreme Court ruling states that electricity consumption without a signed contract is unlawful.

Conclusion:

The requirement for the consumer to provide a copy of the current charter when signing (or re-signing) an electricity supply contract can be seen not as mandatory but as a request or suggestion from the electricity supplier to properly verify the representative's authority by studying the current version of the charter.

If, for any reason, the consumer does not want to provide a copy of their current charter, the consumer (religious organization) may attempt to provide other documents to confirm the signatory's authority. Specifically, if the head of the religious organization is signing the contract, documents such as:

• An extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs, and Public Formations;
• A certificate or extract from the Unified State Register;

In this case, the supplier's refusal to sign (or re-sign) the contract on the grounds of not providing a copy of the current charter may be considered formal and unfounded, which could become grounds for an appeal.

General recommendations for requests from other organizations

Based on the legal clarification provided, the following conclusions can be drawn regarding requests for charter documents from various organizations:

1. State control authorities (such as the Tax Service, Justice Authorities) have the legal right to demand the charter of a religious organization within the scope of their powers to verify the organization's compliance with the law.
2. Banks and financial institutions are entitled to request the charter when opening accounts and conducting financial transactions to meet financial monitoring requirements and verify the representative's authority.
3. Utility companies (water supply, heating, electric service, etc.) may request charter documents when signing service contracts to verify the signatory's authority. However, alternative documents confirming such authority can be provided instead.
4. Notaries have the right to demand the charter when certifying transactions to verify the legal capacity of the legal entity and its representatives.
5. Private companies and individuals may request the charter when signing contracts, but the religious organization has the right to propose alternative ways of confirming the authority of its representatives.

It is also recommended for UOC religious communities to have a prepared set of alternative documents confirming the authority of the head of the community:

• An Extract from the Unified State Register;
• Minutes of the election of the head;
• Certificate of Registration.

In case of disputes, it is recommended to seek qualified legal assistance to protect the legal rights of the religious community.

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