Višje sodišče v Ljubljani; 2025-09-09; III Cp 1282/2025
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:SI:VSLJ:2025:III.CP.1282.2025
Date: 2025-09-09
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Slovenia

82025SI0909(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
Article 17 of the Succession Regulation (1) provides that ‘where proceedings involving the same cause of action and between the same parties are brought in the courts of different Member States, any court other than the court first seised shall of its own motion stay its proceedings until such time as the jurisdiction of the court first seised is established’. This lis pendens rule applies where the same succession case, or proceedings involving the same claim, has been or will be brought before different courts in different Member States. On that basis, it is then determined which court will, in fact, hear the succession case.
Since it was undisputed that the Croatian court had ruled solely on the succession to the deceased’s property in Croatia, and that those proceedings, concerning only the property in Croatia, had already become final, whereas the proceedings initiated before the Slovenian court concerned the deceased’s movable and immovable property in Slovenia, it was no longer possible to speak of lis pendens as an obstacle to the Slovenian court ruling on that property, since the proceedings before the Croatian court had already been concluded.
(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.