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LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS ON INHERITANCE, FROM RULES UNDER THE PRIMITIVE COMMUNITY TO THE EUROPEAN RULES ON INHERITANCE

Ciuca, L.

Abstract

Ever since the Gentiles community, and then during the slave, feudal, socialist and capitalist systems, the inheritance right has undergone various transformations, generated by the context of social, economic and political developments specific to each period which we are referring to. During the Gentiles period, we cannot speak about "property rights" in a defined and complex way, as it is conceptualized today, but we can rather speak, within gentiles' tribes, about a "right of possession" over the hunting, fishing equipment or over household things. During slavery, in compliance with the Roman law, we can mention that, they made a distinction between necessary heresy (heredes sui et necesarii) and voluntary heresy (hereditas jacens personam defuncti sustinet). During the Babylonian period, until the emergence of the Code of Hammurabi, inheritance was divided according to the deceased person's number of children. In ancient Indian law, in compliance with Manu's Law and up to the amendment brought to this law, inheritance was dominated by the 'first born' rule. During ancient Greece, inheritance was to be left to sons only (the male children) and, only where there was none, inheritance was left to daughters. Under the Romanian law, we can mention the customary period and the time of the old Romanian law, then the influence of the Soviet inheritance law and then, along with the liberation from communist influence, we can talk about an improvement in the concept of legacy, under the influence of the European experience and legislation in this matter. The organization of the European Union and its subsequent expansion has imposed, on matters of successions, standardizing conceptual and procedural challenges. General aspects on the right to inheritance, the structure of conflict rules, the bounding criteria and the exception and referral clauses have attracted interpretations and have represented a challenge for both theorists and practitioners. Autonomy of will in the matter of inheritance, under the perspective of the European federalism, has imposed the acceptance of certain regulations on the matter (the EU Regulation on succession) and the emergence of a new tool called "the European Certificate of Succession". This paper aims at presenting all these aspects, in accordance with their historical evolution and highlighting the sources of inspiration and motivations accepted of changes occurring in this area. 657 SGEM 2014 International Multidisciplinary Scientific Conferences on Social Sciences and Arts Starting with the Gentiles period, covering the major historical periods and focusing on the European philosophy on the law of succession, this paper aims at highlighting both the philosophical transformation of the concept of "right of succession " and the procedure of estate transfer due to "cause of death".

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DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/sgemsocial2014/B21/S5.086

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