Subjective scope of the right to compensation for real property left beyond the current borders of the Republic of Poland: Compensation for legal persons?

Abstract

The right to compensation for real property left beyond the current borders of the Republic of Poland has been granted by virtue of the Act of 8 July 2005 on the Exercise of the Right to Compensation for Property Left Beyond the Current Borders of the Republic of Poland (the so-called “Bug River Act”). The Act fulfils the commitments made by Poland in 1944 in the so-called Republican Pacts, which guaranteed Polish citizens compensation for loss of real property as a result of migrations caused by the change of the Polish eastern border. The solutions adopted in the Act are aimed at definitive settlement of the commitments made several decades ago. One of the issues that has always aroused the most controversy was how to determine the beneficiaries of the right to compensation (previously called the “right to classification”). Despite a rich body of jurisprudence of administrative courts, this issue still remain ambiguous. Questions appear, inter alia, as to whether a legal person is entitled to a compensation. This article is an attempt to present how the lawmaker has approached this group of beneficiaries over the years, whether the right to compensation was granted to legal persons and whether they are entitled to compensation under the currently applicable laws.