Acquisition of an agricultural property by a person closely related to the seller. Comments based on the resolution of the Supreme Court of 22 June 2017, case file no. III CZP 24/17

Provisions of the Polish Act on Shaping of the Agricultural System pose a number of doubts as to their interpretation. In its resolution adopted on 22 June 2017, the Supreme Court decided that an owner of an agricultural property, to whom the 10-year trading prohibition applies, as referred to in Art. 2b par. 2 of the Act, is allowed to trade it within that period for the benefit of a closely related person. This opinion raises doubts, as it has no legitimate authorisation in the legal provisions. Furthermore, the functional arguments put forward by the Supreme Court do not provide sufficient justification for the above-mentioned conclusion. In the author’s opinion, a number of problems emerging from Art. 2b of the Act on Shaping the Agricultural System could be solved through a functional, flexible interpretation of the prerequisite of “material reasons, irrespective of the buyer”, which underlies the court’s consent to the disposal of the real property by an owner burdened by trading prohibition