Gloss to the Resolution of the Supreme Court of 26 February 2021, III CZP 24/20 [on the Interpretation of the Will]

The resolution with gloss concerns the rules for interpreting a will. The Supreme Court stated in it that an interpretation of a will should be performed taking into account all circumstances, including those external to the will and using all means of evidence. The Supreme Court decided that it is the court adjudicating in the case for inheritance acquisition, assessing the evidence gathered in a specific case, that should assess whether it is actually possible to establish the will of the testator. The author of the gloss accepts the thesis of the resolution, but argues with the position of the Supreme Court contained in its justification that only the rules for evidence assessment constitute an instrument allowing one to establish the testator’s will. In the opinion of the author of the gloss the functional interpretation of Art. 948 of the Polish Civil Code (k.c.) indicates limits to the interpretation of the will. After all this is a process that renders it possible to determine the testator’s will in a manner that does not raise any doubts. Therefore, if the interpretation of the will of such fails to secure such a degree of certainty, even despite a positive assessment of the evidence gathered in the case, the court should state that the inheritance has been acquired under the Act.