A Comparative Overview of the Legal Reserve in Inheritance Law and Its Reform Perspectives

by PhD (c) Adela KUSURI

Faculty of Law, University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania
University of Arts in Tirana, Tirana, Albania

Abstract
The legal reserve is an essential element of inheritance law within the Albanian system and beyond. This legal concept, as provided in the Civil Code, seeks to protect the interests of certain heirs by limiting the testamentary freedom of the deceased. The purpose of this institution is to protect family economic interests and to ensure legal certainty, regardless of the testator’s own express wish. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the legal reserve as an institution of inheritance law, assessing both its historical evolution and contemporary relevance. Methodologically, the study begins with an analysis of the provisions on the legal reserve in Albania, starting with the Civil Code of 1929 and following the evolution through to the present Civil Code. This analysis is made in order to compare the institution with models in some other European countries, such as France, Italy, and Germany, as well as with the Anglo-Saxon legal traditions of the United Kingdom and the United States. The findings highlight the similarities and differences of this institute across different countries. This paper further carries the contemporary debate among legal scholars and practicing lawyers by presenting arguments for and against reform or abolishment of the legal reserve. These recent perspectives affecting the concepts of property and inheritance have come into being with the demographic and economic changes related to mass migration, interethnic marriages, and capital mobility. The value of this study lie in its several potential approaches to reform, deepening the adaptation of the legal reserve to the needs of modern society while maintaining a certain balanced approach between tradition and modernity.
Keywords: legal reserve, inheritance law, heirs, testator, testamentary freedom, reform.

https://doi.org/10.58944/cgwi7339