ON THE ACTUALITY OF CASUUM COMMORIENTIUM IN ROMAN AND CONTEMPORARY EUROPEAN PRIVATE LAW

Abstract

In the Roman legal tradition, but also in modern civil law systems, the term commorientes (lat. commorientes) refers to persons who died in the same accident or other danger, standing in a legal position relevant to inheritance law. In connection with the resolution of such situations in the theory of private law, various legal presumptions have been developed since the period of classical Roman law. All these presumptions can be systematized within two basic concepts - the first based on the presumption of survival of subjects and the second based on the presumption of the simultaneous death of subjects.

Comparatively, in the development of European private law, there has been a reception of both concepts, with the proviso that over time the concept of simultaneity will almost completely suppress the concept of survival. The paper analyzes the reasons for this. In establishing a link between Roman roots and European private law, special attention is given to the possibility of applying presumptions in cases where there is a certain spatial or temporal distance between the deaths of persons or if a different cause has led to fatal consequences. Ultimately, the paper clearly points to the importance of Roman rules, which can sometimes be fundamental in understanding the institutes of contemporary private law.