Višje sodišče v Kopru; 2023-10-17; CDn 130/2023
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:SI:VSKP:2023:CDN.130.2023
Date: 2023-10-17
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Slovenia

82023SI1017(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
This case, examined by the Višje sodišče v Kopru (hereinafter ‘the Court of Appeal’), concerned the conditions under Slovenian land-registry law for entering ownership based on a succession decision issued in another European Union Member State.
The plaintiffs requested the Court of First Instance, acting as the land-registry court, to register their ownership based on a German gemeinschaftlicher Erbschein (joint certificate of inheritance). The Court of First Instance refused the registration. It dismissed the plaintiffs’ objection, holding that the foreign decision was not accompanied by a certificate of enforceability, as required by Article 148(1)(2) of the ZZK-1 (1).
On appeal, the plaintiffs argued that the German document is, under German inheritance law, a certificate of inheritance, which contains neither an operative part nor reasoning, nor any confirmation of finality or enforceability, and that such confirmations do not exist in German law. They submitted that Slovenian authorities should not require a formality that the issuing legal system does not provide.
The Court of Appeal upheld the refusal. It held that the German document constitutes a ‘decision’ within the meaning of Article 3(1)(g) of the Succession Regulation (2). Under Article 43 of the Regulation, a decision issued in a Member State and enforceable there is enforceable in another Member State only if it has been declared enforceable in that Member State of enforcement, following the procedure laid down in Articles 45–58. Under Article 46(1), that procedure is governed by the law of the Member State of enforcement.
Under Slovenian law (Article 148(1)(2) of the ZZK-1 and Article 227.h of the ZD (3)), a foreign succession decision may serve as the basis for a land-registry entry only if it is accompanied by a certificate of enforceability issued by the competent Slovenian court using the European Union standard form (4). Since such a certificate did not accompany the German decision submitted in this case, it could not serve as a valid basis for registration.
Consequently, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal as unfounded and upheld the decision of the Court of First Instance.
(1) Zakon o zemljiški knjigi (Land Register Act).
(2) Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council 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.
(3) Zakon o dedovanju (Inheritance Act).
(4) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1329/2014 of 9 December 2014 establishing the Forms referred to in Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council 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.