Extraordinary Wills in Czech Law – Return to European Tradition

Abstract

The Czech Civil Code of 2012 (Act no. 89/2012 Coll.) reintroduced extraordinary wills, which had been absent since 1950, into Czech law. This article provides a basic overview of the regulation of extraordinary wills in Czech law. It conducts a comparison both in the historical-legal context within the development of Czech law since the early 20th century and compares the regulation with the legal frameworks of countries that inspired the Czech Civil Code. Through this comparison, it highlights the differences and specifics of the current Czech regulation, as well as its potential weaknesses or strengths. The text reflects, not only the legal regulation, but also the existing case law, and points out the limits of the applicability of the Czech regulation of extraordinary wills.