Agricultural land succession rules in the Visegrád countries and the relevant case-law of national constitutional courts

Abstract

This study aims to review and compare the agricultural land succession rules in four countries of the Central European region, namely Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary (the Visegrád countries), using a comparative method. The results show that, in the case of Slovakia and the Czech Republic, there are no specific rules on the inheritance of agricultural land; the general succession rules of civil law shall be applied. The same is true in Poland, where there are no specific regulations that differentiate the inheritance of agricultural property or farms from other types of property. However, some specific rules can be found in the Act of April 11, 2003, on the Shaping of the Agricultural System. On the contrary, in the case of acquiring ownership of agricultural land by inheritance, in addition to acquiring it by testamentary disposition, the Hungarian legislator introduced several special rules for acquiring it by intestate succession. Furthermore, in connection with the research topic, the inheritance tax issues, and the relevant case-law of the national constitutional courts are examined in detail.