IL REGOLAMENTO (UE) 650/2012 SULLE SUCCESSIONI INTERNAZIONALI NELLA PRIMA GIURISPRUDENZA DELLA CORTE DI GIUSTIZIA DELL'UNIONE EUROPEA

The present contribution reviews the case-law of the Court of Justice of
the European Union on the EU succession regulation 650/2012, in order to analyse the most
sensitive issues in the first years of its application. Quite unsurprisingly, a consistent number
of questions submitted for preliminary ruling refers to the material scope of the regulation
and to the interpretation of the subject-matters excluded therefrom. While the role of party
autonomy in the regulation does not seem to have been yet discussed, many doubts arise on
the determination of the role of the notaries, on the competences to issue national
certificates and the European certificate of succession, and on the duties of courts deciding
non-contentious cases. Recently, the CJEU dealt with the notions of habitual residence of
an adult and of cross-border matters, thus with a potential impact on the application of
other EU regulations in civil judicial matters. The final remarks positively stress the current
general sensitiveness towards a correct succession planning in the light of the examined
case-law.