Abstract

Since August 17, 2015 the courts of the Member States of the European Union apply the conflict-of-laws rules adopted in the EU Succession Regulation (EU) in succession matters. From the Polish point of view, this constitutes not only the change of the rules applied for the purposes of determining jurisdiction and the applicable law, but also a new approach to the overriding mandatory provisions.

Contrary to other European instruments of private international law, the Succession Regulation neither uses the term “overriding mandatory provisions”, nor defines its meaning. Nevertheless, in Article 30 the Regulation provides for application — irrespective of the law applicable to the succession under its conflict rules — of the special rules of the State, where certain immovable property, enterprises or other special categories of assets are located, and which — for economic, family or social considerations — impose restrictions concerning or affecting the succession in respect of those assets, in so far as, under the law of that State, they are applicable irrespective of the law applicable to the succession.

The interpretation of this provision cause difficulties. It is not clear whether the concept of the special provisions embodied in Article 30 refers to the concept of overriding mandatory rules, well known in the European private international law, or whether it constitutes an original solution. Another controversial issue discussed in the paper is the relevance of the mandatory rules of the forum or the third State other than those mentioned in Article 30.