ORIGINS AND DIGITALISATION OF CORPORATE LAW IN UKRAINE

Abstract

Introduction. This article examines the historical-legal, institutional, and economic-technological backgrounds to the development of corporate law in Ukraine and outlines the key directions of its digitalisation. The study applies an interdisciplinary methodology (historical-legal, comparative, economic-legal, institutional, and empirical approaches). It traces the evolution from a post-Soviet model of formal incorporation to a contemporary corporate governance ecosystem in which digital instruments (electronic identification, remote general meetings, dematerialised securities, electronic document management, XBRL reporting, etc.) serve not only as tools for process optimisation but also as drivers reshaping legal constructs themselves. It is argued that the effectiveness of digitalisation depends on maintaining a proper balance between private autonomy and the public interest, as well as on consistency with EU legal regulation in the fields of corporate governance and capital markets.

Summary of the main findings. The study develops a coherent, integrated perspective on the development of Ukrainian corporate law, combining historical-legal and institutional prerequisites with an analysis of contemporary technology-driven changes in corporate governance. The research demonstrates that the evolution of corporate law in Ukraine has proceeded through a gradual accumulation of normative and institutional “infrastructure” onto which digital solutions are subsequently superimposed. A four-stage periodisation of the development of corporate law in Ukraine is substantiated: early transformation (1991-2003), institutional consolidation (2003-2014), the European-integration turn (2014-2020), and the digitalisation stage (2020-present). The impact of each stage on the prospects for further digitalisation of Ukrainian corporate law is shown. It is emphasised that the development of corporate law and its digitalisation should take place with due regard to Ukraine’s capacity to be integrated into the EU market.

Conclusion. The further digital transformation of Ukrainian corporate law should proceed through aligning substantive rules with procedural standards and preserving compatibility with European approaches to company law and capital markets, since procedures and data are becoming the principal carriers of digitalisation. The doctrinal “knot” at the present stage lies in the conjunction of two vectors: European-integration compatibility and the transformation of the core concepts of corporate law under the influence of the information society. The second vector is decisive, as it changes not only the instruments employed but also the logic of the corporate process.