RAZLOZI NEDOSTOJNOSTI ZA NASLEĐIVANjE U SRPSKOM PRAVU I PRAVIMA DRŽAVA EVROPSKE UNIJE

Abstract

Unworthiness to inherit is a type of civil law sanction when a person is denied an opportunity to inherit a deceased person’s assets as a result of his unlawful and amoral conduct towards the deceased person. The institute of unworthiness has been regulated in all contemporary European legislations, while the reasons for unworthiness are different from state to state and reflect legal and ethical priciples whose violation, based on the assumption of the society, deserves this kind of sanction. The subject of this paper is the overview of the reasons for unworthiness in Serbian Law on inheritance and the goal is to determine whether they reflect the purpose and essence of the existence of this institute, whether they are harmonized with the provisions that have been accepted by the EU memeber states, and, finally, what reform should they indergo in future. For the purpose of attaining the set goals, the author firstly reviews the meaning and importance of the concept of unworthiness to inherit. The central part of the paper is dedicated to the historical development of this institute in Serbian law presenting a critical analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the recent legal solutions and the recommendations for extending the scope of unworthiness which was initially presented by the Comission for drafting the Republic of Serbia Civil Code. The paper includes the overview of reasons for unworthiness in some EU states (Germany, Switzerland, Aiustria, Poland and Croatia). In concluding remarks, the author states that reaching the balance between the principles of justice and right to inherit assumes fewer number of reasons for unworthiness whose scope should not encroach on this right and, in that context, she gives some substantiated recommendations for their reform in Serbia law.