Selected Aspects of the Management of Real Estates Owned by Legal Persons of Churches and other Religious Associations

At the end of 2012, there were 174 churches and religious associations operating in Poland (GUS 2014). Most of the individuals (nearly 96%) are the followers of the Roman Catholic Church. The Catholic Church and its organizational units have legal personality, thereby enabling them to acquire, possess and dispose of the title to real estate and other property rights, and administer the properties. In the years 1944-1962, almost all ecclesiastical real estates were nationalized. The asset-related situation of church legal persons was regulated upon the entry into force of the Act of 17 May 1989 on the relations between the State and the Catholic Church in the Republic of Poland. In 1991-2004, the legislator also regulated the legal status of many other churches and religious associations. Moreover, a fairly uniform system of ecclesiastical reprivatization was developed.

For the purposes of the publication, analyses of selected aspects concerning the management of real estates owned by legal persons of churches and other religious associations in Poland have been carried out. Cases of the approaches adopted in other exemplary countries have also been presented. The intention is to indicate the rules in force as well as the problems encountered in this regard.