AG Lörrach; 2023-03-21; 23 VI 1236/21
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:DE:AGLOERR:2023:0321.23VI1236.21.00
Date: 2023-03-21
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Germany

82023DE0321(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
The former wife (hereinafter the ‘plaintiff’) of a deceased husband with French nationality whose last residency was in Germany applied for the issuance of a European certificate of succession which would declare her to be the sole heir based on their joint last will.
In an older last will, the deceased had appointed both sons of his son to be the sole heirs to equal parts (the son and the two grandsons jointly referred to as the ‘defendants’).
The defendants objected within the succession proceedings conducted by the Amtsgericht Lörrach (hereinafter ‘the Court of First Instance’) that upon the creation of the last will, the deceased did not have the testamentary capacity any longer and that the signature was not his own.
The Court of First Instance examined the objections of the defendants against the plaintiff’s application and dismissed them. The Court of First Instance expressed the opinion that the plaintiff was the sole heir. However, a European certificate of succession could not be issued if Article 67(1)(a) and Article 67(2) of Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 were to be construed to the extent that the term to ‘challenge’ would also mean objections raised within the proceedings regarding the issuance of a certificate of succession. Thus, the proceedings depended on the interpretation of Article 67(1)(a) and Article 67(2) of the Regulation (EU) No 650/2012.
The Court of First Instance submitted a question to the Court of Justice of the European Union Article whether Article 67(1)(a) and Article 67(2) of the Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 were to be construed to also include objections raised within the proceedings regarding the issuance of a European certificate of succession and the court may not examine these or that such challenge means solely objections made within different proceedings.
The Court of First Instance stayed the proceedings until the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
(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.