JURISDICTION OVER INHERITANCE IN EUROPEAN UNION LAW WITH REFERENCE TO CASE LAW

Abstract

This paper deals with jurisdiction in matters concerning succession in European Union
law with reference to jurisprudence of national courts in the Republic of Croatia. Due to
the nature of the European Union itself as a sui generis organization, in order to enable its
functioning and facilitate mobility within it, it is very important to establish a system of rules
which will lead in that direction. Today we have many situations, where people have not only
their citizenship, domicile or residence in different countries in the European Union, but
also their property - both real (immovable) and personal (movable). Thus, the question arises
as to which court or which authority will have jurisdiction to decide about that property. For
the purpose of considering this issue, this paper first outlines the most important features
of legacy as central to the inheritance procedure and (international) jurisdiction itself.
Emphasis is also placed on the hierarchy of legal sources, which is very important for the
implementation of the European Union regulations.

In the second part of this paper, we elaborate the provisions of the Succession Regulation (EU)
No 650/2012 in relation to jurisdiction and the initiation and conduct of related proceedings,
which is also the central part of the paper. We also mention the European Commission
Implementing Regulation. Case law from national courts in the Republic of Croatia is
analyzed in the third part of the paper, with regard to the application of the Succession
Regulation to inheritance proceedings, i.e., with regard to jurisdictional determination.