ATTENTION – THIS IS AN AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION FROM POLISH
In its judgment of June 6, 2025 (I SA/Wa 70/25), the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw clarified how the law operates in the case of the sale or acquisition of an inheritance, when compensation for real estate seized by the state is involved.
According to the provisions of the Civil Code (Article 1052 § 1 of the Civil Code), an inheritance transfer agreement allows the purchaser to take over the deceased’s assets and rights. In practice, this means that the person purchasing the inheritance replaces the seller in property matters.
However, the court emphasized that what applies under civil law does not always have consequences in administrative proceedings. The right to compensation for real estate seized under the Warsaw Decree is granted only to the rightful heir or owner – a person who acquired the inheritance through an agreement is not automatically entitled to claim compensation from the state. In other words, by purchasing a share in an inheritance, one can take over the property and civil claims, but one cannot „transfer” the right to public law compensation. This judgment highlights the difference between private (civil) rights and rights arising from public law.
In the written justification of the discussed judgment, the Regional Administrative Court in Gdańsk cited, among other things, Resolution of the Supreme Administrative Court – Seven Judges of June 30, 2022, Case No. I OPS 1/22, according to which bond agreements, such as a receivables assignment agreement, are not a source of legal interest, as such agreements are not a source of generally applicable law.
For those considering purchasing a share in an inheritance or claims related to real estate decreed properties, this means that it is necessary to carefully examine which rights can actually be inherited or transferred, and which remain solely in the hands of heirs specified by law.