O potrzebie nowelizacji art. 894 §2 Kodeksu cywilnego i usunięcia zwrotu „właściwy organ państwowy” jako pozostałości poprzedniego ustroju
On the Need to Amend Article 894 §2 of the Civil Code and Remove the Phrase "Competent State Authority" as a Remnant of the Previous System

Summary/Abstract: The subject of this article is the need to amend Article 894 §2 of the Civil Code by removing the phrase “competent state authority”, a remnant of the previous system and replacing it with another, more appropriate term. The publication demonstrates that the provision granting, after the donor’s death, the right to demand the fulfilment of charges settled in the public interest not only by the donor’s heirs but also by the competent state authority reflected the realities of the previous system. This is because the Civil Code was adopted during the period of the Polish People’s Republic, within the context of a centrally controlled socialist economy. Currently, in light of the political and socio-economic changes since the adoption of the Civil Code, including the develop-ment of local government, other forms of self-government and association, as well as the growth of civil society and private institutions tasked with implementing social goals, the phrase “competent state authority” should be removed from Article 894 §2 of the Civil Code due to the lack of a purposeful justification for its inclusion and the interpretative doubts raised by its current wording. It is desirable to amend the current legal regulation by granting the right to demand the fulfilment of such a charge after the donor’s death– not only to the donor’s heirs, but also to any person or institution tasked with addressing the social needs intended to be met through the execution of the charge. The basis for such a de lege ferenda proposal is considerations of expediency. The current regulation is inconsistent with afunctional interpretation of Article 894 §2 of the Civil Code, and remedying its deficiencies through a teleological interpretation is an imperfect solution, especially since it is not widely accepted in the doctrine. The article proposes an amended wording of Article 894 §2 of the Civil Code, corresponding to its teleological interpretation, which, due to the political and socio-economic changes that have taken place, currently requires intensified interpretative efforts in the doctrine and jurisdiction. Moreover, the proposed de lege ferenda change would eliminate the interpretative doubts arising de lege lata under Article 894 §2 of the Civil Code, because it would be clear that active legitimacy would be available not only to state authorities in the strict sense, but to all bodies whose functions are substantially related to the purpose of the charge, namely the public interest it is intended to serve. The proposed change would also mean extending active legitimacy to private institutions whose tasks include implementing the social goals to which the charge relates. As a result of the proposed amendment to Article 894 §2 of the Civil Code, it would also be decided that active legitimacy may be vested– in addition to the donor’s heirs– to several bodies or institutions, which in turn is consistent with the ratio legis of this provision, as it helps to increase the probability of executing the donor’s will as expressed in the charge.

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