Višje sodišče v Ljubljani; 2023-08-24; II Cp 877/2023
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:SI:VSLJ:2023:II.CP.877.2023
Date: 2023-08-24
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Slovenia

82023SI0824(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
This case, examined by the Višje sodišče v Ljubljani (hereinafter ‘the Court of Appeal’), concerned the jurisdiction of the Slovenian courts in proceedings relating to the determination of the parties’ common property, where one immovable asset was located in Croatia.
The Okrožno sodišče v Kranju (hereinafter ‘the Court of First Instance’) upheld the defendant’s objection and held that it lacked territorial (local) jurisdiction to rule on the part of the claim relating to the immovable property situated in Croatia; it therefore dismissed the action to that extent. In doing so, it relied on the national rules of the ZMZPP (1).
The plaintiff appealed, arguing that the Court of First Instance should first have assessed international jurisdiction and that jurisdiction was governed by Article 6 of the Regulation concerning matrimonial property regimes (2), since both former partners had their habitual residence in Slovenia when the court was seised.
The Court of Appeal upheld the appeal. It held that the Court of First Instance had erred in applying the ZMZPP, because the dispute fell within the scope of the Regulation concerning matrimonial property regimes, which takes precedence. Although the parties were former non-marital partners, the Court considered that the Regulation should also be applied in such circumstances in Slovenia, since Article 4 of the DZ (3) equates the legal effects of non-marital partnerships with those of marriage in the partners’ mutual relations. Otherwise, non-marital partners would be left without equivalent protection, given that the Regulation concerning the property consequences of registered partnerships (4) applies only to registered partnerships. The Court of Appeal further confirmed that the Regulation concerning matrimonial property regimes applied ratione temporis, as the action was brought after 29 January 2019.
Consequently, the Court of Appeal amended the contested decision and rejected the defendant’s objection to the jurisdiction of the Slovenian courts.
(1) Zakon o mednarodnem zasebnem pravu in postopku (Private International Law and Procedure Act).
(2) Council Regulation (EU) 2016/1103 of 24 June 2016 implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of jurisdiction, applicable law and the recognition and enforcement of decisions in matters of matrimonial property regimes.
(3) Družinski zakonik (Family Code).
(4) Council Regulation (EU) 2016/1104 of 24 June 2016 implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of jurisdiction, applicable law and the recognition and enforcement of decisions in matters of the property consequences of registered partnerships.