Art. 212 of the Civil Code regulates the methods of judicial dissolution of joint ownership. One of them is, mentioned in § 2, the granting of the thing that cannot be shared with one of the co-owners according to the circumstances, with the obligation to repay the others. The item may also be sold in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure.
It should be noted that the court may, within the limits of Art. 212 of the Civil Code, independently decide on the method of dissolution of joint ownership, based on a specific factual state of affairs (Decision of the Supreme Court of 23 July 1982, file reference number III CRN 181/82, Legalis). However, you cannot award the thing to any of the co-owners against his will, because such actions would be pointless, because it is the owner of the thing who knows best whether he needs the thing (Supreme Court decision of November 4, 1998, file ref.no. II CKN 347 / 98, Legalis). It seems, however, that the court is bound by the joint will of the co-owners as to the method of abolition of co-ownership, as well as the possible indication of the co-owner to be received, provided that such action is consistent with the law and principles of social coexistence (Order of the Supreme Court of 8 June 2017 r., file reference number V CSK 570/16, Legalis). However, this position has not always been shared by jurisprudence.
The priority should be to first try to assign the property to one of the co-owners. Only when this turns out to be impossible is it advisable to sell things. The choice of a specific joint owner depends on the circumstances mentioned in the provision. This concept should be understood as meaning many factors, among which the following can be distinguished: the type and purpose of things, the family status of the co-owners, professional background and type of professional activity, property status and the possibility of repayment of other co-owners (K. Górska, Commentary to Art. 212 of the Civil Code [in:] E. Gniewek (ed.) Civil Code. Commentary, 9th edition, CH BECK 2019).