Višje sodišče v Kopru; 2017-06-27; I Cp 682/2016
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:SI:VSKP:2017:I.CP.682.2016
Date: 2017-06-27
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Slovenia

82017SI0627(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
This case, examined by the Višje sodišče v Kopru (hereinafter ‘the Court of Appeal’), concerned the issue of international jurisdiction in succession proceedings.
The Okrajno sodišče v Kopru (hereinafter ‘the Court of First Instance’) held that it lacked jurisdiction to conduct the succession proceedings concerning the immovable property situated in Slovenia belonging to the estate of the deceased, who had her last habitual residence in Trieste, Italy. The Court of First Instance relied on Article 4 of the Succession Regulation (1), which provides that ‘the courts of the Member State in which the deceased had his habitual residence at the time of death shall have jurisdiction to rule on the succession as a whole’.
The heir (hereinafter ‘the plaintiff’) appealed, invoking the ZD (2) and the ZNP (3), arguing that these national provisions conferred jurisdiction on Slovenian courts based on the location of the property.
The Court of Appeal emphasised that, since the case involved an international element, the Slovenian court must first examine its international jurisdiction. The deceased died in September 2015. According to Article 83 of the Succession Regulation, which defines its temporal scope, the Regulation applies to the succession of persons who die on or after 17 August 2015. As it was undisputed that the deceased habitually resided in Italy at the time of her death, jurisdiction lay with the Italian courts pursuant to Article 4 of the Regulation. In line with Article 15 of the Regulation, a court seised of a succession matter over which it has no jurisdiction shall declare of its own motion that it lacks jurisdiction. The national provisions relied upon by the plaintiff were, therefore, inapplicable in this context.
Consequently, 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.
(2) Zakon o dedovanju (Inheritance Act).
(3) Zakon o pravdnem postopku (Civil Procedure Act).