Constancy and Changes of Succession Regulations in 100 Years of Poland’s Independence
The paper presents an evolution of the law of succession in Poland since 1918. Five specific areas of regulation are examined: entitlement to succession, acquisition of the inheritance, intestate succession, legitim and reserved portion, and liability for inheritance debts. The constancy of succession regulations was not obvious as there were five jurisdictions in private law 100 years ago in Poland. The unification of 1946 and the codification of 1964 kept what Polish legal practice and doctrine accepted from the European tradition of private law. The tradition based on Roman law was not recognized in Poland before it was partitioned in 1795. Roman law appeared in Poland with the code of Napoleon brought by his armies to the Duchy of Warsaw in 1808, and with codes of Austria, Russia and Germany. The three empires divided Poland between themselves for the long 19th century. After gaining independence in 1918, Poland accepted the European legal tradition of private law as its own. It happened not by one act, but by the silent acceptance of private law that remained in force after the partition. Changes of notions, values, institutions or regulations in the Polish law of succession were kept limited for the last 100 years, as the stability of private law was guaranteed by the acceptance of Roman legal tradition.
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