Case C-386/12: Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 3 October 2013 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Sofiyski gradski sad — Bulgaria) — Proceedings initiated by Siegfried János Schneider (Jurisdiction and recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters — Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 — Scope — Legal capacity of natural persons — Exclusive jurisdiction in matters relating to rights in rem in immovable property — Scope — Non-contentious proceedings concerning the right of a person who has been placed under guardianship and is domiciled in a Member State to dispose of immovable property situated in another Member State)
Date: 2013-10-03
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: application of EU law, capacity to exercise rights, guardianship, jurisdiction, real property








C_2013344EN.01003502.xml










23.11.2013   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 344/35





Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 3 October 2013 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Sofiyski gradski sad — Bulgaria) — Proceedings initiated by Siegfried János Schneider
(Case C-386/12) (1)

(Jurisdiction and recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters - Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 - Scope - Legal capacity of natural persons - Exclusive jurisdiction in matters relating to rights in rem in immovable property - Scope - Non-contentious proceedings concerning the right of a person who has been placed under guardianship and is domiciled in a Member State to dispose of immovable property situated in another Member State)
2013/C 344/61
Language of the case: Bulgarian

Referring court

Sofiyski gradski sad

Parties to the main proceedings

Siegfried János Schneider

Re:

Request for a preliminary ruling — Sofiyski gradski sad — Interpretation of Article 22(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (OJ 2001 L 12, p. 1) — Natural person lacking full legal capacity in accordance with the law of his Member State — Application submitted by that person in another Member State, with his guardian’s approval, for permission to sell immovable property inherited in that State — Jurisdiction of the courts of the Member State in which the property is situated — Whether Article 22(1) of Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 applies in non-contentious proceedings

Operative part of the judgment

Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters and, in particular, Article 22(1) thereof must be interpreted as not applying to non-contentious proceedings by which a national of a Member State who has been declared to be lacking full legal capacity and placed under guardianship in accordance with the law of that State applies to a court in another Member State for authorisation to sell his share of a property situated in that other Member State, in view of the fact that such proceedings are concerned with the ‘legal capacity of natural persons’ for the purposes of Article 1(2)(a) of Regulation No 44/2001, a matter which falls outside the material scope of that regulation.


(1)  OJ C 311, 13.10.2012.