Od „posledního“ k „nejbližšímu“ dědici? K vývoji postavení manželky v česko-rakouském a československém dědickém právu

The paper deals with the changes in the position of the wife in law of succession (both as an intestate heir and as a person entitled to the forced share) in the Czech lands from the middle of the 18th century to the present day, and also with discussions about the adjustment of her inheritance-legal position in Czech-Austrian jurisprudence at the beginning of the 20th century (during the recodification of ABGB) and in the 1920s (in connection with the interwar recodification). The evolution of law of succession in the Czech-Austrian area and in the European context is characterized by the strengthening of the position of spouses; in the domestic regulation of law of succession as a whole and especially in the intestate succession, we can see a shift from “consanguinity” to consideration of “needs” and “merit”. In the Czech lands, however, there is a different approach in the intestate law, where the position of the wife was gradually strengthened (the turning point was in particular the 1st sub-amendment of the ABGB in 1914, inspired by the German BGB in 1896), and when regarding the forced share, where her position (unlike in Austria) has not yet been improved (despite repeated efforts at the beginning of the 19th century during the finalization of the ABGB, at the beginning of the 20th century during the preparation of the amendment of the ABGB, in the 20s of the 20th century in connection with the interwar recodification, and at the beginning of the 21st century during the preparation of the 2012 Civil Code).