EU SUCCESSION REGULATION No 650/2012

Introductory Remarks

H. Pamboukis

with the assistance of Dr. A.-P. Sivitanidis

The legal basis for European integration in the field of private international law

is Article 81(2)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),

which provides for the possibility of adopting measures for the unification of Mem-

ber States conflict of laws rules. This article constitutes the legal basis for enactment

of the EU Succession Regulation (650/2012).

In the course of the important Tampere summit (15-16 October 1999) the Euro-

pean Council approved the principle of mutual recognition of decisions as a funda-

mental principle of judicial cooperation in civil matters. In implementation thereof,

the European Commission issued, on 30 November 2000, a joint programme of mea-

sures of the Commission and the Council. In the Brussels summit of 4-5 November

2004 the Council issued a new programme, the Hague programme, as called in short.

This programme underlined the need for creating a Regulation on international suc-

cession matters comprehensively. This programme was superseded by a multiannual

programme known as the Stockholm Programme, on the basis of a European Council

decision adopted during the 10-11 December 2009 Brussels summit.

In terms of technical preparation with a view to drafting the EU Succession Regu-

lation, the Commission was supported by a major comparative law study, with the

collaboration of Professors H. Dörner and P. Lagarde.

This study provided the basis

for the Commission proposal presented in 2005, the relevant Green Paper. The broad

participation, through comments, on the part of both the Member States and various

social partners confirmed the great interest in the project. The European Parliament

also supported the Commission’s initiative with a resolution in 2006.

Based on the above, the Commission released on October 14, 2009 its proposal for

a Regulation, which, following the consenting opinion of the European Council of

Economic and Social Affairs, was adopted by the method of codecision and was pub-

lished in the Official Journal of the European Union on 27 July 2012. The Regulation

is in force pursuant to Article 84, since 16 August 2012; however, it should be noted

that, as discussed in more detail below, the Regulation applies -with the exception of

certain provisions thereof- since August 17, 2015.

II. Fundamental choices of the EU Succession Regulation

Integration in this field has not been easy, due to great and radical contrasts in the

substantive laws of the Member States. There are differences both as to the status of

2. But also for other Regulations, both in the field of procedural international law (Brussels I and

Brussels II bis, Brussels I bis), and in the field of conflict of laws (Rome I, II, III).

3. Which was published in a volume under the title: Les successions internationales dans l’ Union

européenne - Perspectives pour une harmonisation (Würzburg, DNotI, 2004).

4. The Regulation differentiates, indeed, between entry into force and application pursuant to Ar-

ticle 84, while pursuant to this same article, Articles 77 and 78 apply since 16 January 2014 and

Articles 79, 80 and 81 apply since 5 July 2012.