Legal Aspects of Family Constitution in the Process of Transfer of a Family Business

Authors

Ana Taneski
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Law
Boštjan Koritnik
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Law
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18690/um.fov.5.2025.2

Synopsis

This chapter addresses the legal aspect of family business succession planning, focusing on the institution of the family constitution. It first analyzes the legal specificities of family businesses and then defines the role and significance of the family constitution. The aim is to examine how a family constitution can support successful business transfer and strengthen family relations, which are vital for long-term cooperation. The research includes an interview with Domen Deu, the intended successor of the Slovenian company Dines d.o.o., where only an informal succession agreement currently exists. Family members act as both owners and managers but are unfamiliar with the family constitution, and thus it has not been implemented. Although this has not hindered operations so far, formalizing agreements in a family constitution could stabilize relationships, align processes between family, ownership, and business, and help prevent internal conflicts. Such an approach could positively influence the company’s long-term stability, market performance, and overall business results.

Author Biographies

Ana Taneski, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Law

Ana Taneski is a postgraduate student at the Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana, where she previously completed her undergraduate studies and obtained the title of Bachelor of Laws (UN). Alongside her studies, she is gaining practical experience through student jobs in the legal field and participation in extracurricular activities such as moot court and the legal clinic. Her postgraduate focus is on commercial law, which currently represents her chosen area of specialization. She is currently further enhancing her knowledge through a student exchange within the Erasmus+ programme at the Faculty of Law, Universidad Autónoma, in Madrid.

Ljubljana, Slovenia. E-mail: anataneski@gmail.com

Boštjan Koritnik, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Law

Boštjan Koritnik is a university graduate lawyer with a very diverse career experience. He was a stock market commentator for Delo, CEO of GV Založba publishing and co-CEO of Ius Software, president of the ABA basketball league appeals tribunal, minister of public administration of the Republic of Slovenia, head of public relations, etc.. In the Cobiss bibliographic database we can find more than 300 contributions under his name. He was the secretary of the Faculty of Law of the University of Ljubljana for five years, he collaborated with three crypto companies, he is still a partner in several start-ups, and since 2008 he has also held various roles in non-governmental organizations: among others, he is Secretary General of the Association of Jurists’ Societies of Slovenia and the editor of the oldest Yugoslav scientific journal Pravnik. He is currently the head of legal content at Tax-Fin-Lex, a researcher and assistant at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ljubljana, and since 2022 he has been a city councillor and deputy mayor of the City of Ljubljana. In 2019, he was also a co-recipient of the Slovenian Lawyer of the Year award. Although he is a lawyer by education, he is an entrepreneur at heart and a lover of psychology, sports, and transferring knowledge (to himself and to others).

Ljubljana, Slovenia. E-mail: bostjan.koritnik@revija-pravnik.si

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Volume

Izzivi prenosa vodenja na naslednjo generacijo v družinskem podjetju

Pages

47-82

Published

August 1, 2025

Categories

Copyright (c) 2025 University of Maribor, University of Maribor Press

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Taneski, A., & Koritnik, B. (2025). Legal Aspects of Family Constitution in the Process of Transfer of a Family Business. In M. Marič & D. Deu (Eds.), Izzivi prenosa vodenja na naslednjo generacijo v družinskem podjetju (pp. 47-82). University of Maribor Press. https://doi.org/10.18690/um.fov.5.2025.2