A Will Made During an Epidemic – Roman testamentum pestis tempore condictum and Selected Modern Regulations

Abstract

This article deals with the problem of making a will during an epidemic and simplifications in the testamentary formalities that are necessary to facilitate a testator to validly express his or her wishes in such difficult and specific circumstances. It analyses testamentum tempore pectis conditum in Roman law and its modern equivalents in Spanish, Italian and Polish law. Preconditions of applicability of the special forms of a will in those systems and the simplifications introduced therein are compared. The article presents the specific provisions in which this form of a will is regulated and their interpretation in civil law doctrine and case law. The central questions are: under which circumstances this form of a will is allowed, what the purpose of the special regulations is, what the relaxation from the ordinary testamentary formalities consists in and what requirements should be fulfilled after the will is made to preserve its validity. Some basic comparisons with the ordinary forms of a will are made to establish the peculiarities of the will drawn up during the epidemic. The differences between the analysed provisions and their importance in practice are pointed out.