Prenuptial Agreements in Russia

Legal Grounds for Invalidating a Prenuptial Agreement

According to the Russian Civil Code (1995, Chapter 9), a prenuptial agreement—or any contract—may be declared invalid under several circumstances. These include:

• Failure to meet formal legal requirements
  
  
• Inclusion of provisions that are not legally permitted
  
  
• Lack of legal capacity or authority to sign the contract
  
  
• Signing the agreement under false pretenses, fraud, or coercion
  
  

Court Authority to Modify or Invalidate Agreements

The Russian Family Code (Articles 43 and 44) gives courts broad discretion to declare a prenuptial agreement—either entirely or partially—invalid if it places one of the parties in an “extremely unfavorable position.” This includes scenarios where the agreement negatively impacts a party’s financial well-being.