Civil FruitsPart I – General issues, natural fruits from a thing

Abstract

In the Polish Civil Code of 1964, civil fruits, referred to in some other European legislation as"fruits" (following the model of Roman law - fructus) have been regulated in a manner similarto that adopted in the German Civil Code of 1896. However, in contrast to the German doctrine,this issue has not received an in-depth analysis in Polish literature so far, but has onlybeen mentioned basically in textbooks and short commentaries.The purpose of this article is to present the key issues concerning the legal category of "fruits"in Polish civil law with a historical and comparative background. Due to the far-reaching similarityto the German regulation, significant differences resulting from the different specificregulations in the Polish Code of 1964 compared to those adopted by the German legislatorare also presented.In the first part of the analysis, in addition to general historical and comparative remarks,fundamental issues concerning the general concept of "fruits" and the divisions adopted bothin the Code and in legal science are presented. Significant problems are also presented concerningthe key category of so-called natural benefits of things, which are also referred to as"direct fruits" in German literature. These are the benefits that accrue directly to the ownerfrom the thing. He or she is, so to speak, the 'primary' person entitled to the benefits that thething that belongs to him or her brings. The subjective scope distinguishes this category fromother benefits that the thing may produce (also in the form of tangible goods "born" by thething), which are referred to as "benefits (or fruits) of right." This term is related not so much tothe legal nature of the benefit itself as an object of law but rather to the fact that the basis forderiving a particular benefit is a subjective right (other than ownership, e.g., usufruct or lease).Detailed further subdivisions shall be presented in the second part of the paper

Keywords

• ruit
• benefits
• property
• civil law
• property law