KG Berlin; 2023-07-03; 1 W 2/23
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:DE:KG:2023:0627.1W2.23.00
Date: 2023-07-03
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Germany

82023DE0703(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
This case, decided by the Kammergericht Berlin (hereinafter ‘the Court of First Instance’), concerns the conditions of validity of a European Certificate of Succession.
The child of the deceased parents owning a property (hereinafter ‘the plaintiff’) obtained from the Amtsgericht Wedding (‘the Court of First Instance’), two European Certificates of Succession – one designating her mother as her father’s heir and the other designating the plaintiff as her mother’s heir.
Subsequently, the plaintiff applied to the Grundbuchamt (Land Registry Office) to correct the land register on the basis of the European Certificates of Succession. The Land Registry Office objected to the form, insisting that the documents had to be officially bound, and refused to make the correction by way of an interim order. The plaintiff appealed the order to the Court of Appeal to determine whether the objections of the Land Registry Office were valid.
The Court of Appeal held that, under the first sentence of Article 35(1) of the GBO (1), the European Certificate of Succession may be used to prove inheritance. The Land Registry must accept either the original or a certified copy. The certificates submitted by the plaintiff met these criteria as they were certified copies issued by the probate court in accordance with Article 70 of Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 (2). The Land Registry Office had required the certificates to be officially bound, in addition to the existing stapling, pursuant to Article 44 of the BeurkG (3). However, the Court of Appeal found no legal basis for this requirement. The form and binding requirements for European Certificates of Succession are governed by European law, which prescribes specific forms and certification procedures (Articles 67 to 70 of Regulation (EU) No 650/2012). National legislation cannot impose stricter requirements that would contradict European standards. The submitted certificates had correctly been certified per European Union rules, making any additional mandatory national requirements unnecessary and inappropriate.
The Court of Appeal held that the Land Registry Office’s objection to the form of the European Certificates of Succession submitted was unfounded. The interim order of the Land Registry Office was therefore annulled, and the Land Registry Office was ordered to proceed with the correction of the land register on the basis of documents submitted.
(1) Grundbuchordnung (Land Register Code).
(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) Beurkundungsgesetz (Notarization Act).