Renunciation of Inheritance by Kosovar Women: Desire or Injustice? A Case Law Perspective

Background: The right to inherit is one of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and legal provisions. Every citizen is entitled to this privilege without exception. Even though this right is protected by the Constitution, barely 23% of women in Kosovo are officially registered as heirs. When women exercise their right to refuse inheritance, they mostly give up that privilege in favour of male heirs. Unquestionably, customary law impacts this choice. Influenced by religious and customary rights that stipulate that men are entitled to inherit, women prefer to give up their claim to inherit, which accounts for the low percentage of female heirs. Despite the fact that the right of inheritance is regulated by law under the principle of equality, the real situation shows something else. This article will analyse inheritance law and the influence of customary law, which has led many women to forfeit their rights. This issue discriminates against Kosovar women, denying them their rightful inheritance. These analyses will determine whether customary law or other factors have impacted Kosovar women's unequal inheritance rights compared to men. Ultimately, it raises the question: are these women victims of injustice, or have they freely decided to give up their inheritance? Methods: In this paper, several methods were employed to reach a conclusion, including analytical, comparative, historical and normative approaches. The analytical method was used to examine the phenomenon of women renouncing their inheritance rights and the judicial decisions where women have given up their right of inheritance. The normative method examined the legal provisions that directly regulated the right to renounce the inheritance. The historical method played a crucial role in illustrating the evolution of inheritance rights and its influence on women's contemporary perspectives. Finally, the comparative method facilitated a comparison of the legal regulation of inheritance rights in Kosovo with those in other countries in the region. Results and Conclusions: In legal terms, the right of inheritance treats all heirs equally, regardless of gender, but in practice, a very low percentage of women inherit, mostly giving this right to male heirs. Many factors have influenced this result, such as the influence of customary law and religious law, but also the low number of employed women. After analysing this matter, it was seen that the main solution is to raise awareness among women that all heirs are equal, regardless of gender, ensuring the law is applied fairly to all heirs. To address the reduction of women renouncing their inheritance, several legal changes are recommended. One such change is requiring the declaration of renunciation of inheritance to be made before a notary and registered in court to determine legal deadlines. Additionally, the reasons for renouncing inheritance should be explicitly stated within the set timeframe. A more radical measure that would ensure that women do not renounce their rightful inheritance according to the law, and in this way, they would be free from the influences of society, is to change the law by removing the right to renounce the inheritance. Thus, all legal heirs would be forced to accept the inheritance due to them by law.