INTRODUCTION

The final contribution of this book will first provide an overview of the treaty law and its historical background, topics discussed in great detail in the various country reports (section 2). It then analyzes the impact of the treaty law on the functioning of the Succession Regulation (section 3). As the treaty law affects the functioning of the Succession Regulation in various ways, this contribution will examine the question of whether there are any compelling reasons for those EU Member States that do not plan to terminate or adapt the treaties concluded with third States, to keep the rules on jurisdiction and/or applicable law as enshrined in the treaties (section 4). As these rules are – at least from the perspective of the European Union as opposed to that of (most) third States – based on outdated concepts of private international law which create frictions with the Succession Regulation, various policy options are discussed to improve the law and the working of this Regulation (section 5). A summary concludes this contribution (section 6).

INSTRUMENTS TAKING PRECEDENCE OVER THE SUCCESSION REGULATION: A SURVEY

MAPPING THE LAW

The country reports have revealed that not all EU Member States scrutinized in this book have concluded bilateral agreements or multilateral conventions that take precedence over the EU Succession Regulation. As a rule of thumb, the further east one looks, the more agreements one finds between EU Member States and third States covering succession issues, at least partly.

Starting in the west, Belgium is not party to a single agreement that could be in conflict with the Succession Regulation. There are only two general instruments on the recognition and enforcement of judgments with Switzerland and the United Kingdom. However, neither of these instruments affects the respective rules in the Succession Regulation as they concern the recognition and enforcement of Belgian judgments in Switzerland and in the United Kingdom and vice versa, an issue which is not covered by the Succession Regulation. This Regulation deals exclusively with the free movement of decisions in succession matters amongst the participating Member States.