Competenza sussidiaria e momento determinante la giurisdizione secondo il Regolamento europeo sulle successioni

The Court of Justice of the European Union addressed in Hantoch an issue regarding the interpretation of Article 10(1) of Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 on matters of succession. The provision confers jurisdiction in matters of succession on the courts of the Member State in which the deceased's assets are located. The referring court had asked at which point in time one should assess the location of the assets of the deceased. The Court held that regard should be had to the time of the death of the deceased. The Court's conclusion, while persuasive in itself, rests on reasoning that is not entirely convincing. The Court relied in its ruling on a systematic argument, noting that various provisions of the Regulation refer to the time at which the deceased passed away. The purpose of the provision considered, it is submitted, should rather be regarded as decisive. The paper argues that the relevant moment for assessing the circumstances that serve as jurisdictional grounds must be determined primarily in accordance with the goals pursued by the jurisdiction-conferring rule in question. The article discusses the above finding in relation both to Article 10 of the Succession Regulation and to other rules on jurisdiction laid down in EU legislative measures.