INTESTATE SUCCESSION IN ROMAN LEGAL TRADITION

Abstract

Inheritance law is divided into two forms: testate succession and intestate succession.
Intestate succession is applied to situations when a person failed to make a valid will or when
the will a person made was later declared legally invalid, whereby those in closest relationship
to the testator are entitled to inherit. The main topic of the paper is intestate succession and
its position and development in Roman law. As a starting point, we give insight into general
development and the very notion of succession in Roman law and its arrangement, studied
through different periods of time in history.

Furthermore, the basic elements of inheritance law are elaborated, such as succession
prerequisites, the consequences of succession and the legal protection of heirs. The bonorum
possessio institute is also elaborated, which has led to significant changes in the context of
intestate succession.

In the second part of the paper, intestate succession is analyzed in detail, providing insight
into changes in the order of succession and the characteristics through civil, praetorian law
and Justinian law, respectively. Such analysis gives an overview of the order of succession and
the relationship between the heirs.

The third part of the paper builds on the previous two parts and describes contemporary
law of succession and its influence on the Croatian system of succession. The answer to
this question is given by the analysis of the Inheritance Act that regulates the institute of
inheritance in the Republic of Croatia and determines the circle of potential intestate heirs.

The last part of the paper contains the discussion on the importance of the existence of the
aforementioned institute, its purpose and importance to the society and the legal system.