The material limits of the European Succession Regulation

Abstract

Cross-border successions have their legal framework in the European Union (EU) in Regulation No 650/2012 of 4 July 2012 on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions and acceptance and enforcement of authentic instruments in matters of succession and on the creation of a European Certificate of Succession (European Succession Regulation). About this Regulation, there are sometimes some expectations, not always realistic, about the answers that it can provide, in an area where there are many divergences between the substantive law of the Member States. It is therefore important to know the limits that circumscribe the material scope of application of the Regulation, bringing to the discussion the jurisprudence of the European Union Court of Justice (ECJ).

Keywords: European Succession Regulation, material scope of application, Private International Law, cross-border succession