Constitutional Court: Inheritance Rights Cannot Be Circumvented by Classifying Copyrights as Property of Negligible Value

Mgr. Nikola Šedová

2. November 2026

1 minute of reading

Legal news

In its ruling, Case No. I. ÚS 1005/26, the Constitutional Court ruled in favor of an heir who was unable to assert her father’s economic copyrights. In the probate proceedings, these rights had been awarded to the decedent’s former wife—who had arranged the funeral—as property of negligible value, without their actual value ever having been examined. According to the Constitutional Court, a person who claims that these rights belong to her by inheritance must have an effective legal remedy available to assert her right. The ruling was adopted on October 21 and published on October 27, 2026.

In the original probate proceedings, the notary determined the existence of property rights arising from copyright and the rights of a performing artist; however, he did not assess their value and terminated the proceedings on the grounds that the property was of negligible value. The decedent’s daughter subsequently failed in her motion for a supplementary probate hearing. The Constitutional Court primarily criticized the fact that this placed her in a situation where she effectively had no effective means of asserting her alleged right to inheritance in court. This violated her right of access to the courts in conjunction with her constitutionally guaranteed right to inherit.

The Constitutional Court did not, however, state that copyrights must always be valued at a high amount or that they must automatically pass to the heir. It did emphasize, however, that economic copyrights can generally have value and that their value cannot be disregarded without further consideration. The Supreme Court must now find a procedural path that will allow the heir to have the issue of the value of these rights—as well as the inheritance claim itself—truly reviewed.