Moral rules or legal certainty : on hierarchy of values of the Polish legislator on the example of the unworthiness of inheritance

Bibliogr. s. 94-94

In the Polish succession law the regulations concerning unworthiness of inheritance are not fully congruent with its axiological grounds and the purpose they have to achieve. The institution of unworthiness of inheritance has strong moral grounds and its main goal is to prevent inheritance by persons who have committed certain acts against the deceased, his or her freedom of testation and/or the inheritance order. However, the Polish regulations concerning unworthiness of inheritance do not guarantee that such persons will not receive benefits mortis causa, despite committing one of the above-mentioned acts. It is a consequence of both the legal nature of the unworthiness of inheritance in Polish law and - in particular - the time limits for declaring unworthiness by the court. These time limits, in particular the deadline of three years from opening of the inheritance, should be perceived as too short. The paper presents a critical analysis of the regulations concerning unworthiness of inheritance from an axiological perspective, as well as contains some proposals de lege ferenda. The main comment concerns the extension of the time limits after the lapse of which the unworthiness can no longer be declared by the court.