Abstract
Serbian legal sources have limited data on the law of wills and succession: no will was preserved and the Law Code of Stefan Dusan regulated intestate succession only in articles 41 and 48. It seems that the commoner class (sebri), living mostly in extended families, inherited their property according to the rules of customary law, while the noblemen accepted provisions of Byzantine law. In Serbian legal miscellanies, translated from Greek, the institutes of testate and intestate succession were thoroughly presented. The so called Zakon gradski (Serbian translation of Procheiron) contains 12 chapters referring to the law of succession and the Syntagma of Matheas Blastares placed all provisions on testate and intestate succession in chapter K - 12 under the title On heirs and the disherison of sons or parents. Byzantine law on intestate succession kept all the basic principles of Justinian's legislation. Serbian sources only mention intestate succession of hereditary estates (socalled bastina) belonging to the noblemen class, but according to some fragments from Serbian charters we can conclude that the estates could be inherited even in the commoner's class. The fact that not a single will remained in Serbian mediaeval law does not mean that it was unknown in Serbia. Sources mention its existence using Slavonic terms zavet and zavestanije and sometimes a Greek word diatax, while a freedom of disposition by testament was expressed by the formula given for the soul (za dusu odati).
Highlights
Testate and Intestate SuccessionWhere a deceased person left a will and succession took place according to the terms of that will the succession was said to be testate
Serbian legal sources have limited data on the law of wills and succession: no will was preserved and the Law Code of Stefan Dušan regulated intestate succession only in articles 41 and 48. It seems that the commoner class, living mostly in extended families, inherited their property according to the rules of customary law, while the noblemen accepted provisions of Byzantine law
The so called Zakon gradski (Serbian translation of Procheiron) contains 12 chapters referring to the law of succession and the Syntagma of Matheas Blastares placed all provisions on testate and intestate succession in chapter K – 12 under the title “On heirs and the disherison of sons or parents”
Summary
Byzantine Law on intestate succession, especially Procheiron and Basilika (τα Βασιλικὰ, a collection of law completed c. 892 AD in Constantinople by order of the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise), kept all the basic principles of Justinian’s legislation.[8]. 892 AD in Constantinople by order of the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise), kept all the basic principles of Justinian’s legislation.[8] the intention to limit the right of collaterals in a remoter degree to take inheritance is evident. If there were no heirs, inheritance would be divided between the landlord and the Church. A second conclusion of the same Council ordered that in the case of death of under age person, who already had inherited deceased parent, heritage would be divided into three parts: one third to the remaining parent, one. Third to the parents of deceased parent and one third to the Church. The provision was valid for all social classes.[10]
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