Višje sodišče v Ljubljani; 2022-03-22; I Cp 2127/2021
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:SI:VSLJ:2022:I.CP.2127.2021
Date: 2022-03-22
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Slovenia

82022SI0322(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
This case, examined by the Višje sodišče v Ljubljani (hereinafter ‘the Court of Appeal’), concerned the international jurisdiction of the Slovenian courts in succession proceedings.
The Okrajno sodišče v Kranju (hereinafter ‘the Court of First Instance’) established that the deceased’s habitual residence at the time of death was in Croatia, although he was a citizen of Slovenia and a co-owner of an apartment in Kranj. Relying on Article 4 of the Succession Regulation (1), the Court of First Instance declared that it lacked jurisdiction to conduct the succession proceedings and dismissed, for lack of jurisdiction, the proposal of the Slovenian ministry (hereinafter ‘the plaintiff’) to restrict the succession.
The plaintiff appealed, arguing that the Court of First Instance had overlooked the subsidiary jurisdiction provided for in Article 10 of the Succession Regulation.
The Court of Appeal emphasised that Article 10 of the Regulation applies only where the deceased did not have habitual residence in any Member State at the time of death. In the present case, it was undisputed that the deceased’s habitual residence at the time of death was in Croatia, that is, in a Member State of the European Union. The Court of First Instance, therefore, correctly applied Article 4 of the Succession Regulation and declared, pursuant to Article 15 thereof, that it had no jurisdiction to conduct the proceedings.
Accordingly, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal as unfounded and upheld the decision of the Court of First Instance.
(1) 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.