Applicable law to ascertain validity of a testament and testamentary succession under the Regulation 650/2012

The article discusses relevant jurisdiction and selected choice-of-law issues with respect to testamentary inheritance of rights in rem under the Regulation 650/2012. The article begins with some introductory remarks and elaborates later on the issue of the applicable law regarding the validity of a testamentary disposition. This problem is scrutinized from the perspective of both formal and substantive validity. Thereafter, the jurisdiction in reference to testamentary disposition of rights in rem is studied. Subsequently, the article elaborates the applicable law in reference to testamentary disposition of rights in rem, including testamentary dispositions of real estate. Part four of the paper is devoted to "the rule" of one applicable law and of a jurisdiction of only one court. At the end of the article, the elaborated problems are briefly juxtaposed with issues regarding circumvention of the law, public order clause and overriding mandatory provisions of law. The paper concludes with some proposals as to how to solve arising problems