La igualdad por razón de filiación y la sucesión hereditaria

Abstract

This paper begins with the difference in treatrnent given to legitimate, natural illegitimate and non-natural illegitimate children regarding their inheritance rights depending on the date of death of the deceased, since the inherirance upon death is ruled by the law in force at that time. Ir analyses the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court case-law about the criteria of temporality of the Spanish Constitution and the protection of the legal security. Afterwards, it addresses the children's equality concerning their inheritance rights. In so doing, it offers severallegal arguments against the filiation discrimination, like the possible unconstitutionaliry of some artides of the original Civil Code, the infringement of the public order, the indirect discrimination or the violarion of the European Convention of Human Rights according to rhe European Court of Human Rights case-law