Original scientific paper
General Civil Code Inheritance Principles in the Practice of Croatian-Slavonian Probate Courts
Mirela Krešić
; Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Introduction of the General Civil Code marked a turning-point in the socio-economic and legal development of the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia. The initial reluctance to accept the GCC, due in part to the unconstitutional manner of its enactment, was soon overcome and its impact on Croatia’s legal life has been generally assessed as positive. Nevertheless, the GCC’s inheritance law regulations were subject to constant criticism, particularly its principles which contradicted the until-then established procedures surrounding inheritance. These were the principle of universal succession and the principle of equality of legal subjects, regardless of gender. These two principles formed a consolidated order in inheritance law for all persons and for all things. This meant that, in comparison to the previous feudal law, it did not distinguish between inheritance of movable or immovable property, nor did it matter whether the decedent left behind acquired or hereditary assets. Also, it did not matter whether the decedent was a woman or a man, nor did the gender of the heirs matter. The reluctance to accept these principles may be even more narrowly seen as unwillingness to accept women’s rights to inherit immovable property. The probate documents of the Croatian-Slavonian courts show the ways in which decedents avoided the women’s inheritance rights by resorting to various donations inter vivos and mortis causa, pointing to the conclusion that despite all of the expressed criticism, one may speak of the real-life adjustment to the system established by GCC.
Keywords
General Civil Code; inheritance law; principle of universal succession; principle of equality regardless of gender; probate court; Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia
Hrčak ID:
116261
URI
Publication date:
30.12.2013.
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