Disappearance of a Natural Person Who Is a Sole Proprietor (Self-Employed)

Abstract

The disappearance of a natural person, especially when he or she is also a sole proprietor of a business, causes legal problems. Such situations are not directly regulated by legal acts, i.e., the legislators do not refer to the impact and consequences of the disappearance on the performed business activity. Meanwhile, the fact that a sole proprietor goes missing may have a negative impact on his or her situation, including the content of the obligations binding on him or her. This paper discusses how the relatives, in particular the spouse of the missing person, may behave in such circumstances. The considerations carried out concern Polish law and Slovak law, as there is no specific regulation of the declaration of missing person who is a sole proprietor introduced on the model of foreign regulations, the article places emphasis on the comparison of both selected regulations. The conclusion indicated that until the missing person is recognised as dead, family members or other relatives do not have any competence to take any action on behalf of the missing sole proprietorship circumstances, other entities may operate, i.e., attorney-in-fact, proxy, according to Polish law custodian established pursuant to Art. 184 of the Family Code, the custodian established pursuant to Art. 144 of the Code of Contentious Civil Procedure, or prosecutor. Similarly, under the Slovak law, until the missing person is declared dead, a guardian, or a representative appointed by the court pursuant to Section 68 of the Civil Procedure Code, acts for such person.