Land within the border strip along the State Border of Ukraine used for the construction of engineering and technical facilities may be held in state ownership only - SC GC

Land plots within the 30-50 metre wide border strip along the state border of Ukraine, which are used to ensure the activities of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, in particular for the arrangement and maintenance of engineering and technical structures, belong to defence land, for which a special regime of their use is established and which can only be state-owned, and therefore cannot be transferred to communal or private ownership.

This conclusion was reached by the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court in a case brought by the prosecutor on behalf of the state represented by the Regional Military Administration to invalidate an order in part of the transfer of land plots from state to communal ownership, cancellation of state registration of communal ownership and state registration of land plots. 

In the circumstances of the case, the StateGeoCadastre transferred state-owned agricultural land plots to the village council for communal ownership. The prosecutor argued that such land plots are partially located within the border strip established along the state border of Ukraine, which indicates that these land plots belong to defence land, which can only be owned by the state and cannot be transferred to communal ownership, and for which a special regime of use is established.

The courts of previous instances dismissed the claim on the grounds that the location of the disputed land plot within the border strip does not confirm that it belongs to defence land and does not affect its intended purpose.

Considering the dispute, the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court noted that the legislator has defined both the legal regime of land plots within the border strip and the special legal regime of land plots within the 30-50 metre wide border strip along the state border line for the construction, arrangement and maintenance of engineering and fortification structures, fences, border signs, border clearings, communications, etc.

By placing the relevant rules on land plots within the 30-50 metre wide border strip along the state border line in Article 77 "Defence Land" of the Land Code of Ukraine, having established the purpose of allocating this category of land - to ensure national security and defence, compliance with the regime of the state border, the legislator classified these land plots within the border strip as defence land, for which a special regime of use is provided.

Thus, the lands of the 30-50 metre wide border strip along the state border line are classified as defence lands and are used to support the activities of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, in particular for the construction and maintenance of engineering structures, border markers, clearings, communications and other facilities. These lands have a special legal regime established by law and are used with restrictions to ensure national security and defence of the state at the border.

Other land plots within the border strip that are not used for the location of border engineering infrastructure and are not subject to mandatory allocation for permanent use by military units of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, i.e. have a different legal regime and do not belong to defence land, may be in municipal and private ownership. 

Thus, in this case, the prosecutor must prove the exact area of the land plots and the boundaries within which they fall within the 50-metre strip along the border. It is impossible to protect the right without finding out full information about the disputed land plots and their identification.

Resolution of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court of 2 July 2025 in case No. 902/122/24 (proceedings No. 12-15гс25) - https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/128845054.

This and other legal positions of the Supreme Court can be found in the Database of Legal Positions of the Supreme Court - https://lpd.court.gov.ua.