INTRODUCTION

Austria is bound by the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 on the Conf icts of Laws Relating to the Form of Testamentary Dispositions and is party to several treaties regarding matters of succession such as legal assistance, consular rights, applicable law, jurisdiction and mutual recognition and enforcement of decisions. Treaties with Member States remain applicable to the extent that they concern matters that do not fall under the scope of the European Succession Regulation (Article 75(2)), e.g. obligations of notification and consular rights of participation. Treaties with third States (within the meaning of the Succession Regulation), on the other hand, take precedence over the Succession Regulation, as is provided by Article 75(1) SR. However, to the extent that treaties with third States covers matters which do not relate to the subjects of the Succession Regulation, e.g. the recognition and enforcement of decisions given in third States, there is no conflict in application triggering the provisions of Article 75(1) SR.

OVERVIEW

The following treaties between Austria and third States take precedence over the Succession Regulation:

The Treaty with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Treaty with Yugoslavia take precedence over the provisions of the Succession Regulation on international jurisdiction and conflict of laws. The Treaty with Iran takes precedence only over the provisions on conflict of laws. Following the disintegration of Yugoslavia, the Treaty continues to apply to its successor States, namely Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia (henceforth: ‘Macedonia’), Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. Since Croatia and Slovenia have become EU Member States, the Succession Regulation takes precedence over the Treaty. The Treaty with the Soviet Union on the other hand continues to apply only to Russia and not to any other successor States of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.