NOVELIZATION OF THE PROCEDURAL STATUS OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE MULTI-APARTMENT BUILDING COUNCIL IN CIVIL PROCEEDINGS

Abstract

The chairperson of the multi-apartment building council has been granted the right to represent the interests of premises owners in court in certain categories of cases, if such a right is delegated to him by a decision of the general meeting. A resolution of the general meeting or power of attorney is required to confirm the authority of the chairperson of the multi-apartment building council. However, the procedural status, scope of the chairperson's authorities and procedure for confirming them remain uncertain. Purpose: to analyze the procedural and legal status of the chairperson of the multi-apartment building council with a view to optimize his status in order to more effectively protect the rights of a large group of persons formed by the premises owners in the multi-apartment building. This will require a critical assessment of a number of provisions of Federal Law No. 592-FZ as of December 12, 2023. Methods: empirical methods of comparison, description, interpretation; theoretical methods of formal and dialectical logic; specific scientific methods: legal-dogmatic and interpretation of legal norms. Results: it is proved that the procedural status of the chairperson of the multi-apartment building council should be determined not as a status of a procedural representative, but as a status of a person – a group member initiating an appeal to protect the rights and legitimate interests of other group members –  premises owners in the multi-apartment building. The approach that assumes special procedural powers vested in the chairperson of the multi-apartment building council is proved to be erroneous. The general approach enshrined in the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation should be taken as a basis: the representative performs all actions on behalf of the represented, except for those requiring a special will of the represented.  It is also noted that the legal empowerment of the chairperson of the multi-apartment building council is based on the model of targeted representation, in which the court should check not only the scope of rights and obligations of the representative, but also determine whether the case initiated by the representative is among the cases he is authorized to initiate by the resolution of the general meeting. Attention is drawn to the absence in the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation of norms establishing the admission of a representative on the basis of the decision of the general meeting of premises owners in a multi-apartment building, while federal laws affecting civil proceedings should be adopted in accordance with the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.