In the regulations of both the Family and Guardianship Code and the Code of Civil Procedure, there is no clear regulation specifying what state of joint property should be taken into account by the Court when dividing it. Due to the emerging doubts, the District Court presented the following legal issue to the Supreme Court:
„In the case of the division of joint property, is the determination of the value of individual property items included in the joint property according to the state of these items as at the date of termination of the marital property or according to the state at the date of adjudication?”
According to the Supreme Court, the court determines the composition of joint property at the time of termination of the community of property, and its value according to the state and prices at the time of division (in this case, adjudication). The Supreme Court also pointed out that the „condition” of the joint property should be understood as the characteristics, quality or degree of wear of the joint property components. Returning, however, to the key issue – the Supreme Court emphasizes that the moment when the value of property items included in joint property should be determined should be the moment of adjudication, and more precisely the moment of closing the hearing. This is in accordance with the principle of timeliness established in the Code of Civil Procedure.
Justifying the choice of the moment of determining the state of joint property at the time of closing the hearing, the Supreme Court adds that the division of joint property is not obligatory. It is therefore justified to consider the moment of division of property (i.e. closing of the hearing) as the most appropriate moment for assessing the condition of this property. After all, the state at the time of termination of community of property may differ significantly from that at the time of adjudication.
Finally, it should be emphasized that while the condition of individual assets included in the joint property is assessed as at the date of adjudication, the composition of the property itself is determined at the moment of termination of the community of property.