Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2024:990
Date: 2024-11-28
Language of the case: Bulgarian
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Bulgaria

Translation C-395/23 – 1 
Case C-395/23 [Anikovi] i 
Request for a preliminary ruling 
Date lodged: 
29 June 2023 
Referring court: 
Sofiyski rayonen sad (Bulgaria) 
Date of the decision to refer: 
24 June 2023 
Applicants in non-contentious proceedings: 
E. M. A. 
E. M. A. 
M. I. A. 
  
ORDER 
Sofia, 24 June 2023 
In a closed session on 24 June 2023, the Sofiyski rayonen sad (Sofia District 
Court) … […], composed of 
PRESIDENT: […] 
heard … […] Civil Case No 14139/2023 and took account of the following in 
reaching its decision: 
The proceedings are governed by the first paragraph of Article 267 TFEU. 
1 The question concerns international jurisdiction for non-contentious proceedings 
concerning the granting of permission for the sale of immovable property of minor 
 
i The name of the present case is a fictitious name. It does not correspond to the real name of any party to the proceedings. 
EN 
REQUEST FOR A PRELIMINARY RULING OF 24. 6. 2023 – CASE C-395/23 
 
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children and the relationship between Regulation 2019/1111 and Regulation 
593/2008. It further asks about the relationship between Regulation 2019/1111 
and a bilateral international agreement between a Member State (Bulgaria) and a 
third country (the Soviet Union or the Russian Federation), which was concluded 
before the Member State’s accession to the European Union. 
PARTIES TO THE PROCEEDINGS 
Applicants: 
Е. М. A., a national of the Russian Federation, born on … […] 2005, 
Е. М. A., a national of the Russian Federation, born on … […] 2008, 
both with consent of their mother, M. I. A., a national of the Russian Federation, 
Authorised representative: lawyer … […] Tsoncheva (Sofia Bar Association) … 
[…] 
Applications of the parties 
2 The applicants are applying for permission to sell the co-ownership shares of 1/6 
each in two residential (holiday) properties in the village of R. (on the Black Sea 
coast) and one property in the town of B. (a holiday resort in the mountains), 
which are described in detail in the application, at a price not lower than the tax 
valuation of the properties, with the sale price to be transferred to two bank 
accounts of the children at banks in Germany. 
FACTS OF THE CASE 
3 During the marriage between the mother, M. I. A., of the two children, E. М. A. 
and E. М. A., and the father, M. A., all Russian nationals, the mother acquired 
three properties in Bulgaria in her own name for residential (holiday) purposes, 
two on the Black Sea coast and one in a resort in the mountains. As the acquisition 
took place during the marriage, the husband, M. A., was a 50% co-owner of the 
properties. Following the death of the husband, M. A., on 29 July 2015 in the 
town of L., Republic of Cyprus, the surviving wife, M. I. A., and the two children 
inherited his half co-ownership share. A Russian notary drew up a correct 
document stating that the children and the mother/wife accepted the inheritance. 
The children and the mother live in Germany, where according to their statements 
they have their habitual residence. 
ANIKOVI 
 
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APPLICABLE PROVISIONS OF EUROPEAN UNION LAW 
Article 1(e) of Council Regulation (EU) 2019/1111 of 25 June 2019 on 
jurisdiction, the recognition and enforcement of decisions in matrimonial matters 
and the matters of parental responsibility, and on international child abduction 
[…] 
Article 7(1) of Regulation 2019/1111 […] 
Article 98 of Regulation 2019/1111 […] 
Article 4(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 of the European Parliament and 
of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations 
[…] 
Article 24(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and 
of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and 
enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters […] 
APPLICABLE PROVISIONS OF BULGARIAN LAW 
(а) International agreements 
Dogovor mezhdu Narodna Republika Bulgaria i Sayuza na Savetskite 
sotsialisticheski Republiki za pravna pomosht po grazhdanski, semeyni i 
nakazatelni dela (Agreement on legal assistance in civil, family and criminal 
matters between the People’s Republic of Bulgaria and the Union of Soviet 
Socialist Republics) 
(Ratified by Decree No 784 of the Council of State of 15 April 1975, DV 1975, 
No 33, in force since 18 January 1976) 
Published in DV No 12 of 10 February 1976, correction in DV No 17 of 
28 February 2014 
‘Article 25 
Legal relationships between parents and children 
1. Legal relationships between parents and children shall be determined by the 
law of the contracting party in whose territory they have their joint domicile. 
2. Where the parents, or one of the parents, is/are domiciled in the territory of 
one contracting party and the child is domiciled in the territory of the other 
contracting party, the legal relationships between them shall be determined by the 
law of the contracting party of which the child is a national. 
REQUEST FOR A PRELIMINARY RULING OF 24. 6. 2023 – CASE C-395/23 
 
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3. Proceedings to contest or establish paternity or maternity and to establish the 
birth of a legitimate child shall be decided in accordance with the law of the 
contracting party of which the child is a national at the time of his or her birth. 
4. The legal relationships between a child of persons who are not married to 
each other and his or her mother or father shall be determined by the law of the 
contracting party of which the child is a national. 
5. Where the child is a national of one contracting party and lives in the 
territory of the other contracting party, and the law of that contracting party is 
more favourable to the child, the law of that contracting party shall apply. 
6. The authorities of the contracting party of which the child is a national or of 
the territory in which the child is domiciled or resident shall have jurisdiction to 
take decisions concerning the legal relationships referred to in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 
4 and 5. 
Article 30 
Forms of legal transactions 
1. The form of a legal transaction shall be determined by the law applicable to 
the legal transaction. However, compliance with the law of the place where the 
legal transaction is concluded shall be sufficient. 
2. The form of a legal transaction concerning immovable property shall be 
determined by the law of the contracting party in whose territory the immovable 
property is situated.’ 
(b) National law 
Zakon za zadalzheniata i dogovorite (Law on Obligations and Contracts) of 
1951 
Article 18. Contracts on the transfer of ownership or the establishment of other 
rights in rem in immovable property shall require notarial attestation. 
Kodeks na mezhdunarodnoto chastno pravo (Code on Private International 
Law) of 2005 
Article 85. (1) Relationships between parents and children shall be governed by 
the law of the State in which they have their joint habitual residence. 
(2) Where the parents and the child do not have a joint habitual residence, 
relationships between them shall be governed by the law of the State in which the 
child has his or her habitual residence or by the law of the State of which the child 
is a national, if the latter is more favourable to the child. 
Grazhanski protsesualen kodeks (Code of Civil Procedure) of 2007 
ANIKOVI 
 
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Article 586. (1) When drawing up a notarial instrument relating to the transfer of a 
right of ownership or the establishment, transfer, modification or termination of 
another right in rem to immovable property, the notary shall verify whether the 
person transferring the right is the owner of the property and whether the specific 
requirements for the legal transaction are met. 
(2) The right of ownership shall be evidenced by appropriate documents. […] 
(3) The notary shall also certify in the instrument that the verification referred to 
in paragraph 1 has been carried out, stating the documents evidencing the right of 
ownership and the other requirements. 
(4) Where the document of ownership of the person transferring the right has 
not been registered, the notarial instrument shall not be drawn up until after that 
document has been registered. 
Semeen kodeks (Family Code) of 2009 
Article 130. (1) The parents shall manage the child’s property in his or her 
interests and with all due care. 
(2) Income from the child’s property which is not required to meet his or her 
needs may be used to meet the needs of the family. 
(3) Acts disposing of immovable property, movable property by way of a formal 
legal transaction, deposits and securities belonging to the child may be carried out 
with the approval of the district court at the child’s current place of residence if 
such disposal is not contrary to the child’s interest. 
(4) Any donation, waiver of rights, and lending and securing of third-party 
liabilities by a minor child shall be null and void. By way of exception, the 
securing of third-party liabilities may be effected by a pledge or mortgage in 
accordance with paragraph 3, in the case of a need of the child or an obvious 
benefit to the child, or in the case of an extraordinary need of the family. 
(5) The transactions of a minor child who is married shall be subject only to the 
restriction laid down in Article 6(4). 
(c) Relevant national case-law: 
Order No 144 of 2 June 2015 in Civil Case No 1100/2015 of the Varhoven 
kasatsionen sad na Republika Bulgaria (Supreme Court of Cassation of the 
Republic of Bulgaria), Chamber of the Second Civil Division, states: 
‘Under Article 130(3) of the Family Code, acts disposing of immovable property, 
movable property by way of a formal legal transaction, deposits and securities 
belonging to a child may be carried out with approval of the district court at the 
current place of residence if such disposal is not contrary to the child’s interests. 
REQUEST FOR A PRELIMINARY RULING OF 24. 6. 2023 – CASE C-395/23 
 
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The provision is found in the chapter governing relationships between parents and 
children. Under Article 85 of the Code on Private International Law, relationships 
between parents and children are to be governed by the law of the State in which 
they have their joint habitual residence. Article 25 of the Agreement on legal 
assistance in civil, family and criminal matters between the People’s Republic of 
Bulgaria and the USSR also provides for the application to the relationships 
between parents and children of the law of the contracting party in whose territory 
they are domiciled. At the same time, account should be taken of the fact that that 
the objective of Article 130(3) of the Family Code is to ensure the protection of 
the child’s interests when disposing of his or her property. The approval of the 
disposal is a requirement of special law for concluding a disposal transaction for 
the purposes of Article 586(1) of the Code of Civil Procedure, compliance with 
which must be verified by the notary when the contract is concluded. Under 
Article 65(1) of the Code on Private International Law, the acquisition and 
termination of rights in rem and possession are governed by the law of the State in 
which the property is situated. Article 30(2) of the abovementioned agreement on 
mutual assistance is to the same effect. Consequently, with regard to the special 
requirements of the law, including those under Article 130(3) of the Family Code, 
that same law is to be applied to the transfer of ownership of immovable property. 
Since the permission of disposal of immovable property is to be granted by a 
court, it follows that that must be the court of the State in which the property is 
situated.’ 
The abovementioned order, which is available on the website of the Supreme 
Court of Cassation, concerns a case of Russian nationals and the question on 
which the Supreme Court of Cassation has given an interpretation is: Does the 
Bulgarian court have jurisdiction over an application under Article 130(3) of the 
Family Code submitted by the legal representative of a minor of Russian 
nationality seeking consent to the disposal of immovable property that belongs to 
the child and is situated in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria? 
The same view is taken in Order No 7276 of 14 June 2023 in Civil Case 
No 6491/2023, Sofiyski gradski sad (Sofia City Court), First Civil Chamber, 
which set aside Order No 15959 of 2 May 2023 in Civil Case No 14139/2023, 
Sofia District Court, […] (the present case). However, in this case, in finding that 
the provisions of Regulation 2019/1111 did not apply to applications by children 
for permission to dispose of immovable property situated in Bulgaria, the chamber 
of the Sofia City Court also referred to Article 4(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) 
No 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on 
the law applicable to contractual obligations. In so far as that provision concerns 
the applicable law and not the international jurisdiction for the dispute, it can be 
assumed that the Sofia City Court intended to refer to Article 24(1) of Regulation 
No 1215/2012, which governs the exclusive international jurisdiction of the courts 
of the Member States in which the immovable property is situated in proceedings 
which have as their object rights in rem in immovable property or tenancies of 
immovable property. 
ANIKOVI 
 
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FACTUAL BACKGROUND. NEED FOR THE INTERPRETATION OF 
THE PROVISIONS OF EUROPEAN UNION LAW 
4 Currently, many nationals of the Russian Federation who have acquired 
immovable property in Bulgaria (on the Black Sea coast, in mountain resorts, and 
elsewhere) are trying to sell that property. In a large number of cases, that 
property belongs in whole or in part to children, either on account of inheritance 
or because the property was acquired in the children’s names at the outset. Under 
Bulgarian national law, the disposal of a child’s immovable property, for example 
by sale, requires prior permission by a court in non-contentious proceedings. 
5 Some Bulgarian courts appear to take the view that they have international 
jurisdiction to grant such permission when a child who is a Russian national 
makes an application concerning the sale of immovable property in Bulgaria, 
setting out grounds based on the 1975 Agreement on legal assistance between the 
People’s Republic of Bulgaria and the USSR and on Regulation No 563/2008 
(which should be regarded, correctly, as a reference to Article 24(1) of Regulation 
No 1215/2012). The requirement of court permission for the sale of the 
immovable property is considered by the Bulgarian courts to be part of the form of 
the contract for the transfer of the immovable property and it is argued that the 
jurisdiction of the Bulgarian court derives from the fact that the case concerns the 
legal situation and transactions relating to immovable property in Bulgaria and not 
parental responsibility in relation to the children. Thus, the Bulgarian court has 
jurisdiction even if the children are habitually resident in another Member State of 
the European Union or in a third country, such as Russia. 
6 In its judgment of 6 October 2015, Matoušková, C-404/14, [EU:C:2015:653], the 
Court of Justice of the European Union held that Council Regulation (EC) 
No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003 concerning jurisdiction and the recognition 
and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental 
responsibility, repealing Regulation (EC) No 1347/2000, must be interpreted as 
meaning that the approval of an agreement for the sharing-out of an estate 
concluded by a guardian ad litem on behalf of minor children constitutes a 
measure relating to the exercise of parental responsibility, within the meaning of 
Article 1(1)(b) of that regulation and thus falls within the scope of the latter, and 
not a measure relating to succession, within the meaning of Article 1(3)(f) thereof, 
excluded from the scope thereof. 
7 In the above interpretation, the Court of Justice ruled on the relationship between 
Regulation No 2201/2003 on international jurisdiction in matters of parental 
responsibility and Regulation No 650/2012 on international jurisdiction in matters 
of succession; however, the referring court is not aware of any case-law of the 
Court of Justice on the relationship between Regulation 2019/1111 on 
international jurisdiction in matters of parental responsibility in non-contentious 
proceedings concerning immovable property of children and Regulation 
No 1215/2012 on international jurisdiction in disputes over immovable property. 
REQUEST FOR A PRELIMINARY RULING OF 24. 6. 2023 – CASE C-395/23 
 
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8 Nor is the referring court aware of any case-law of the Court of Justice on whether 
bilateral agreements on mutual legal assistance concluded by Member States with 
third countries (and containing provisions on international jurisdiction and 
applicable law in relation to disputes and claims raised by nationals of the parties 
to the agreement) prior to a Member State’s accession and prior to the adoption of 
the relevant regulation result in a derogation from the provisions of the relevant 
regulation. Bulgaria and other former Eastern Bloc countries which are now 
Member States of the European Union concluded similar bilateral agreements on 
mutual legal assistance with the Soviet Union until 1989, and those agreements 
now apply in relation to the Russian Federation. Those bilateral agreements are 
not mentioned in Chapter VIII of Regulation 2019/1111, for example, and it is 
uncertain whether they constitute a derogation from the provisions of the 
regulation or, conversely, whether the regulation constitutes a derogation from 
those provisions. 
9 Against that background, three questions are referred to the Court of Justice of the 
European Union for a preliminary ruling. 
On those grounds, Sofia District Court has 
ORDERED AS FOLLOWS: 
Proceedings in Civil Case No 14139/2023 of the Sofia District Court are 
STAYED pending a decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union. 
The following questions are REFERRED to the COURT OF JUSTICE OF 
THE EUROPEAN UNION for a preliminary ruling pursuant to the first 
paragraph of Article 267 TFEU: 
1. Does the scope of Article 1(e) of Council Regulation (EU) 2019/1111 of 
25 June 2019 on jurisdiction, the recognition and enforcement of decisions in 
matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, and on 
international child abduction, cover non-contentious proceedings concerning the 
granting of permission by a court for the disposal, e.g. a sale, of immovable 
property or co-ownership shares in immovable property belonging to a child? 
2. Which regulation determines the international jurisdiction of a court of a 
Member State of the European Union in non-contentious proceedings concerning 
the granting of permission by a court for the disposal, e.g. a sale, of immovable 
property or co-ownership shares in immovable property belonging to a child: (i) 
Article 7(1) of Regulation 2019/1111 – the court for the place where the child is 
habitually resident – or (ii) Article 4(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 or 
Article 24(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 – the court for the place where 
the immovable property is situated? 
3. Are the rules of Regulation 2019/1111 on international jurisdiction in 
matters of parental responsibility derogated from by a bilateral international 
agreement between a Member State (Bulgaria) and a third country (the Soviet 
ANIKOVI 
 
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Union or the Russian Federation) which was concluded before the Member State’s 
accession to the European Union, if that international agreement is not listed in 
Chapter VIII of Regulation 2019/1111? 
The order is definitive and may not be challenged. 
Judge