For Determining the Scope of Tort Liability of Heirs
Keywords:
Creditors’ interests, Tortious liability, Pecuniary liability, Personaly enforceable obligation, Universal inheritance, “Maligora” division, Deadline for submitting a request.Abstract
The aim of the presented article is to determine the scope of the heir's tortious liability as defined in the "interest of creditors" determined under the Part 1 of Article 1484 of the Civil Code of Georgia and the boundaries of this liability. Considering that tort, as a type of obligation, is a controversial category and, as a rule, requires determination by the court, one chapter of the article is devoted to procedural legal issues of satisfying the interests of creditors. The question of limitation as the form of restriction of the tortious liability of the heirs will be dealt separately. The article highlights the importance of judicial practice for the interpretation of the aforementioned norm and the role of the court in obtaining the proper evidence. Among other issues, attention is focused on the content of "personal rights" by contrasting it with the obligation being performed personaly. The latest judgment of the Tbilisi City Court is discussed along with a sample of German judicial practice. The feature of the liability of co-heirs before the division of the estate is compared to German law.
References
1. Civil Code of Georgia, 26/06/1997.
2. Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia, 09/10/2009.
3. Law of Georgia “On Freedom of Speech and Expression”, 24/06/2004.
4. Law of Georgia “On Traffic”, 24/12/2013.
5. Akhvlediani Z., Commentary to the Civil Code of Georgia, Fifth Book, Family Law, Inheritance Law, Transitional and Final Provisions of the Civil Code, Chanturia L., (chief ed.), Tbilisi, 2000, 375, 383, 385, 516 (in Georgian).
6. Berekashvili D., The Compulsory Share in Inheritance Law, A Dissertation Submitted for the Academic Degree of Doctor of Law, Tbilisi, 2020, 143 (in Georgian) https://www.tsu.ge/assets/media/files/48/disertaciebi5/Diana_Berekashvili.pdf [25.09.2025].
7. Bichia M., The Content of the Right in the Civil Law, Journal of Law, N 2, 2023, 41 (in Georgian).
8. Chanturia L., Commentary to the Civil Code of Georgia, Book Three, Law of Obligations, Chanturia L., (chief ed.), Tbilisi, 2001, 565 (in Georgian).
9. Chikvashvili Sh., Delictual Obligations in Civil Law, Actual Problems of the State and Law, Anniversary Collection, Tbilisi, 2003, 181 (in Georgian).
10. Dundua M., Correlation Between Tort and Contractual Liabilities, Journal of Law, N 1, 2009, 53 (in Georgian).
11. Katamadze N., Defining Non-Property Value within Personal Non-Property Rights in Civil Circulation, Jornal of Law, N 1, 2020, 167, 175-176 (in Georgian).
12. Kereselidze D., General Consepts of Private Law, Tbilisi, 2009, 97 (in Georgian).
13. Thodua, M., Whilems H., Law of Obligations, Tbilisi, 2006, 37 (in Georgian).
14. Tsvaigert K., Kotts H., Introduction of Comparative Jurisprudence to the Sphere of Private Law, Vol. 2, Contract, Unjust Enrichment, Delict, Ninidze Th., (ed.) Sumbatashvili E., (translator), Tbilisi, 2001, 287, 321, 370 (in Georgian).
15. Tsvariani B., Legend of Law - Antonin Scalia, Journal “Legal Methods”, N 2-2018, 56 (in Georgian).
16. Ujmajuridze I., “Maligora” Division, in: Encyclopedia “Georgia”, Fifth Volume, Tbilisi, 2023, 482 (in Georgian).
17. Zoidze B., Property-Related Liability for Breach of Obligations. Tbilisi, 1989, 7 (in Georgian).
18. Ansay T., Law of Succession, in: Introduction to Turkish Law, Ansay T., Wallace D. Jr. (eds.), 6th Edition, Alpen aan den Rijn, 2011, 144.
19. Borysiak W., § 18 – Succession of Claims for Compensation for Property Damage Resulting from the Death of a Business Owner in: Shaping the Status of Heirs by Contractual Components under the Polish and German Inheritance Law, Comparative Challenges and the Perspective of Approximation of Legal Systems, Bartosz K., Macierzyńska-Franaszczyk E., Rott-Pietrzyk E., Fryderyk Z. (eds.), Osnabrück, 2023, 207-212, 213-214.
20. Du Plessis P. J., Borkowski's Textbook on Roman Law, 6th edition, Oxford, 2020, 330, 337-338, 340, 346, 350.
21. Geneviéve V., Tort Liability, in: Introduction to French Law, Bermann G. A., Etienne P. (eds.), Alphen aan den Rijn, 2008, 244.
22. Koziol H., Basic Questions of Tort Law from a Germanic Perspective, Wien, 2012, 1.
23. Lintl A., Austria, in: European Succession Laws, 2nd edition, ed. by Hayton D., Cornwall, 2002, 34.
24. Mousourakis G., Fundamentals of Roman Private Law, Berlin, 2012, 98, 260, 263.
25. Örücü E., Something Old, Something New in Comparative Law, Journal of International and Comparative Law, 2015, 336, <https://www.jicl.org.uk/journal/december-2015/something-old-something-new-in-comparative-law> [05.11.2025].
26. Reid K. G C., Schmidt J. P., Zimmermann R., Administration of Estates, Reid K. G C., Schmidt J. P., Zimmermann R., (eds.), Oxford, 2025, 110, 288, 299.
27. Verboke A., Zantbek von A., Belgium, in: European Succession Laws, 2nd edition, ed. by Hayton D., Cornwall, 2002, 37-38.
28. Vicente D. M., Comparative Law of Obligations, Cheltenham, 2021, 267.
29. Vukotić M., A Comparative Perspective on the Liability of Heirs, Anali Pravnog Fakulteta U Beogradu, 1/2024, 54, 62-63, 65 <https://anali.rs/xml/202-/2024c/2024-1c/Anali_2024-1c-04.pdf> [04.11.2025].
30. Wacke A., Casum Sentit Dominus: Liability for Accidental Damages in Roman and Modern German Law of Property and Obligation (A shortened and revised English version of article) 1 https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/jsouafl1987&div=49&id=&page=> [23.09.2025].
31. Zaika Y. O., Kukhariev O. Ye., Skrypnyk V. L., Mytnyk A. A., Peculiarities of Protection of Rights and Interests of Heirs: Theoretical Aspects, International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 2021, 10, 361 https://lifescienceglobal.com/pms/index.php/ijcs/article/view/7084/3703 [05.11.2025].
32. Zimmermann R., The Law of Obligations, Roman Foundations of the Civilian Tradition, Oxford, 1996, 154, 907.
33. Judgment of February 27, 2025 of the Chamber of Civil Cases of the Tbilisi City Court.
34. Decision of July 26, 2017 N as-650-616-2015 of the Civil Cases Chamber of the Supreme Court of Georgia.
35. Decision of April 18, 2017 N as-171-160-2017 of the Civil Cases Chamber of the Supreme Court of Georgia.
36. Decision of October 16, 2015 N as-567-538-2015 of the Civil Cases Chamber of the Supreme Court of Georgia.
37. Decision of October 7, 2017 N as-143-136-10 of the Civil Cases Chamber of the Supreme Court of Georgia.
38. Decisison of March 4, 2002 N 3k/441-01, of the Great Chamber of the Supreme Court of Georgia.
39. BGH, 20.02.1962, VI ZR 65/61 იხ. NJW 1962, N 20, 911-912.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
