The Supreme Court's Grand Bench will examine two cases that question whether a Civil Code stipulation limiting inheritance rights of children born out of wedlock infringes on the Constitution, which guarantees equality for all under the law.
The Wednesday decision suggests the top court may be inclined to reverse its 1995 Grand Bench judgment that the provision is constitutional. The court convenes the Grand Bench when it wishes to rule on a case that changes a legal precedent or its interpretation of a constitutional provision.
The Civil Code's Article 900, paragraph 4, says a child born out of wedlock is entitled to inherit half the worth accorded to a child born in wedlock.