| Abstract [eng] |
The relevance of this study. Considering globalization and social changes taking place in society, the role of inheritance law as a separate institution remains particularly significant. The principle of free movement of people established by EU legislation leads to the increasingly frequent emergence of inheritance-related relations, which are not linked only to one state. According to statistical data in 2018 more than half a million EU inheritance cases per year consist of international inheritance cases, i.e. i.e. about 10 percent of all EU inheritance cases. This number is determined by the fact that, after the opening of EU borders, more and more citizens of EU member states enter into marriages with citizens of other states, acquire property in a state other than their nationality, work in and settle in foreign states. For example, even several million Polish citizens live in other EU countries, and in a country like Luxembourg more than 20 percent of the total population are foreigners. In such a situation, in the case of inheritance, a number of questions may arise related to the determination of the circle of heirs of the decedent and the property owned by him. The main problems. The researched problem in the process of handling international inheritance cases is determined by the different practice of regulating these legal relations in the EU member states. In addition to the Inheritance Regulation, which aims to unify this practice, EU member states also apply their national legislation. For this reason, heirs may face conflicts between different legal systems, different interpretations of inheritance law and its application. In some EU countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, Estonia, Austria, Spain, Latvia), an inheritance agreement defined by the Inheritance Regulation is possible, however, in Lithuania, such a transaction is not carried out at the time of inheritance and there is no equivalent of such a document. The problems raised in the article related to the regulation of inheritance relations in the context can be described in three ways: 1. The problem of practical application of legal acts regulating the legal relations of international inheritance; 2. The problem of recognition and enforcement of court decisions, court agreements and other documents issued in inheritance cases in foreign countries; 3. The problem of ensuring the principles of equality and unity of inheritance in international inheritance cases. The following tasks: 1. To determine the theoretical prerequisites for the formation of the inheritance institute as an independent branch of civil law. 2. To analyze EU international and Lithuanian national legal acts regulating inheritance relations, as well as the operating principles and application features of these relations established in them. 3. After disclosing the legal significance of court judgments in EU inheritance cases, concluded court agreements and other documents to be issued in inheritance cases, present the basis of the difficulties arising in foreign countries with their recognition and enforcement. 4. On the basis of normative regulation and emerging court practice, to define the problems of the practical application of international inheritance relations in the EU, proposing ways to solve them. The aim of this work: after determining the difficulties in the application of legal acts regulating international inheritance relations in the national law of the EU and Lithuania, evaluate the effectiveness of the process of examining inheritance cases. The paper concluded: the analysis of EU international and Lithuanian national legal acts regulating inheritance relations and the principles of operation and application of these relations established in them showed that complex application of national, international and EU law is necessary in cases of international inheritance. The novelty- today, there are different practices of regulating inheritance relations in the international space. In the absence of a clear established legal practice, persons who may have to deal with international inheritance cases, hoping for a quick and clear procedure announced by the Inheritance Regulation, in order to exercise their rights, may experience actual difficulties related to the different application of these rights or their interpretation by individual states. The analysis of legal acts regulating inheritance relations of an international nature presented in the article will be useful in identifying the main gaps in this regulation, creating prerequisites for searching for opportunities for its further improvement. As the result – after revealing the legal meaning of court decisions, court agreements and other documents to be issued in inheritance cases in the EU, it was found that their recognition in foreign countries and, accordingly, their enforcement is not always successful.The used methodology document analysis, systematic analysis, comparative analysis, logical – analytical and meta – analysis methods. |
