Jurisdiction under Regulation (EU) No. 650/2012 in cases connected with third countries

What is it about?

The rules on jurisdiction contained in Regulation (EU) No. 650/2012 (the European Succession Regulation) present an inherent limitation as concerns their prospective application in third-country related disputes. In fact, differently from the rules concerning the applicable law within the same Regulation, they address just the jurisdiction of Member States subject to the Regulation. This is particularly critical in three instances: choice of forum, which is avaliable only in favour of Member States' courts; subsidiary jurisdiction, which may imply an undue extension of Member States' jurisdiction in cases more closely connectd to third countries, and as concerns the provisions addressing lis pendens and related actions, which apply only as among Member States. The present article discusses these problems and proposes some solutions, in view of a future recast of the Regulation.

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Why is it important?

The present article intends to attract the attention of readers on a critical feature of current EU legislation in the field of private international law, inherent in its essentially Euro-centrical approach. In fact, even though EU competence in this field has been conceived as complementary to the main objective of favouring the free movement of persons within the EU, still the success of the ongoing development of a European system of private international law depends to a great extent on its ability to adequately face the real challenges posed by nowadays personal, family and business relationships, which may hardly be contained within the limits of the European boundaries.

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