According to Art. 52 § 1 of the Family and Guardianship Code, for important reasons, each spouse may request the court to establish separation of property. However, this provision does not specify specific situations and reasons that could be considered important by the court.
In the judgment of January 31, 2003, file ref. IV CKN 1710/00 The Supreme Court emphasized the role of the matrimonial property regime. Its purpose is to strengthen the family and to provide it with a stable material base, and it fully implements the principle of equal rights of both spouses in the field of property relations, constituting the material basis for the functioning of the family. By important reasons giving rise to the abolition of this unity, the court understands the emergence of such a situation, which in specific factual circumstances causes a state that entails a violation or a serious threat to the property interests of one of the spouses and, as a rule, also the good of the family.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly made statements as examples of the existence of these important reasons.
• separation
In the judgment of November 24, 2017, file ref. I CSK 118/17 as one of such reasons, the Supreme Court recognized the separation between the spouses. The court stated that a long-term de facto separation may justify the establishment of property separation by the court, if this state of affairs prevents cooperation in the management of the joint property, entails a violation or a serious threat to the property interests of one of the spouses, or results in a permanent break of any property relations and the inability to take up joint economic decisions.
• Breaking off property relations
However, in the judgment of January 14, 2005, ref. No. III CK 112/04, the Supreme Court stated that the condition for the application of Art. 52 § 1 of the Family and Guardianship Code may result in a permanent severance of all property relations and the inability to make joint economic decisions.
• Criminal proceedings
In the judgment of 15 October 1998 (I CKN 854/97), the Supreme Court ruled that the initiation of criminal proceedings against one of the spouses may constitute a valid reason to abolish the statutory community.
• Wasting money
In the judgment of February 10, 1997 (file no. I CKN 70/96), the Supreme Court recognized the creation by one of the spouses of a situation in which the continuation of the joint property threatens the interests of the other spouse and the good of the family as an important reason justifying the abolition of joint property between spouses. , which may take place especially when one of the spouses squanders their joint property or is completely mismanaged.
• Reckless incurring debts
It is assumed that the recognition as „valid reason” within the meaning of Art. 52 § 1 of the Family and Guardianship Code, incl. the reckless incurring of debts by one of the spouses which undermine the basis of the family’s livelihood. At the same time, the court noted that in such a situation, the determination by the court requires both an element of recklessness and a threat to the existence of the family (II CRN 95/93 – Supreme Court judgment, judgment of 17 September 1993).
It should be remembered that it is always up to the court hearing the case to decide whether the given claimants are valid. There is no doubt, however, that the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court has a large impact on the decisions of other courts.
KS