In the Slovenian legislation, the inheritance of protected farms is specifically governed by a special act, which differs from the general Inheritance Act particularly due to its aim to preserve both the physical and economic integrity of protected farms. The Inheritance of Agricultural Holdings Act regulates intestate and testate succession as well as the disposition of specially protected farms inter vivos. The general provisions of the Act lay down two fundamental principles that closely intertwine throughout the legal text, i.e. the principle of the indivisibility of protected farms and the principle stating that the heir should take over the farm under conditions that are not overly burdensome. The latter enables the realisation of the first principle, while at the same time, both principles form the basis for inheritance consequences, which differ significantly from those arising in the general succession.
A question arises as to whether the existing legislation concerning the inheritance of protected farms is without prejudice to constitutionally protected human rights and freedoms. According to the Constitutional Court, the current legislation does not constitute impermissible interference with Article 14 (the principle of equality before the law) and Article 33 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia (URS), since its limitation is established with the aim of ensuring economic, social and ecological function of the property. The deceased person’s right to freely dispose of assets mortis causa is not absolute and is even further limited in the context of inheriting a protected farm as the deceased person can leave their farm only to one person.
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