Dead hand (right)

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Dead hand ( Latin Manus mortua ) is the legal term for the ownership of corporations such as the church or foundations in mostly immovable economic goods which, due to the original donor's will, may not or should not be resold and therefore excluded from inheritance and withdrawn from private law transactions, i.e. amortized are.

Historical development

The term dead hand evolved historically in feudal , from there he reached the common law and in the church right where the benefice lehnsrechtliche forms were taken.

In feudal law , the regulation of the dead hand was intended to prevent the feudal goods from getting into the hands of people outside the feudal association. The regulation also brought the liege lord temporary income. The acquisition of the affected goods led to the fact that the inheritance ceased to exist, which is why these goods were then referred to as goods of the dead hand, whereby hand is meant here in the sense of possession. In the 13th century, so-called amortization laws were passed across Europe. The Tote Hand was only able to purchase goods by paying its own levy. Current taxes, which had to be paid by the dead in lieu of property and inheritance taxes, were also introduced.

In Germany, the accumulation of dead hands in churches and monasteries that occurred in the Middle Ages was reduced by redistributions as a result of the Reformation , the Peace of Westphalia (1648) and the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss . At the same time, for example, comparable institutions such as the private Fideikommiss were restricted and later completely abolished. Modern civil civil law, described by Bernhard Großfeld as being shy of eternity, prevailed against these perpetual forms of property. In German civil law, Article 87 EGBGB recently contained provisions on restrictions on the acquisition of the dead hand.

In Islam , the institution of the dead hand corresponds to the waqf institution , which also includes immovable goods that are withdrawn from circulation.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ In England in 1279 and 1290 by Edward I, the Statutes of Mortmain .