Foundation types under German Law

Abstract

The article concerns two proverbial divisions of foundations recognized in the German Law, that have become relevant for the Russian Law in connection with the implementation of the institution of hereditary foundations, namely the division of foundations into private and public and the division of foundations into inter vivos and mortis causa. The analysis of the relevant classifications and the underlying criteria is of interest from the comparative law perspective and may provide some unified understanding of the notions, ambiguously interpreted in the Russian scholar and professional community. As a result of the research, it is concluded that in the German Law private and public benefit foundations, as well as inter vivos and mortis causa foundations are types of the single institution of foundation and do not constitute separate legal forms of legal persons with their own civil law status. In this connection, the key differences of this approach from the one adopted in the Russian legislation are defined and the possible path to development of the institute of foundation in the Russian Law is established.