the status of natural persons, as well as family relationships and relationships deemed by the law applicable to such relationships to have comparable effects;

the legal capacity of natural persons, without prejudice to point (c) of Article 23(2) and to Article 26;

questions relating to the disappearance, absence or presumed death of a natural person;

questions relating to matrimonial property regimes and property regimes of relationships deemed by the law applicable to such relationships to have comparable effects to marriage;

maintenance obligations other than those arising by reason of death;

the formal validity of dispositions of property upon death made orally;

property rights, interests and assets created or transferred otherwise than by succession, for instance by way of gifts, joint ownership with a right of survivorship, pension plans, insurance contracts and arrangements of a similar nature, without prejudice to point (i) of Article 23(2);

questions governed by the law of companies and other bodies, corporate or unincorporated, such as clauses in the memoranda of association and articles of association of companies and other bodies, corporate or unincorporated, which determine what will happen to the shares upon the death of the members;

the dissolution, extinction and merger of companies and other bodies, corporate or unincorporated;

the creation, administration and dissolution of trusts;

the nature of rights in rem; and

any recording in a register of rights in immovable or movable property, including the legal requirements for such recording, and the effects of recording or failing to record such rights in a register.

‘succession’ means succession to the estate of a deceased person and covers all forms of transfer of assets, rights and obligations by reason of death, whether by way of a voluntary transfer under a disposition of property upon death or a transfer through intestate succession;

‘agreement as to succession’ means an agreement, including an agreement resulting from mutual wills, which, with or without consideration, creates, modifies or terminates rights to the future estate or estates of one or more persons party to the agreement;

‘joint will’ means a will drawn up in one instrument by two or more persons;

‘disposition of property upon death’ means a will, a joint will or an agreement as to succession;

‘Member State of origin’ means the Member State in which the decision has been given, the court settlement approved or concluded, the authentic instrument established or the European Certificate of Succession issued;

‘Member State of enforcement’ means the Member State in which the declaration of enforceability or the enforcement of the decision, court settlement or authentic instrument is sought;

‘decision’ means any decision in a matter of succession given by a court of a Member State, whatever the decision may be called, including a decision on the determination of costs or expenses by an officer of the court;

‘court settlement’ means a settlement in a matter of succession which has been approved by a court or concluded before a court in the course of proceedings;

‘authentic instrument’ means a document in a matter of succession which has been formally drawn up or registered as an authentic instrument in a Member State and the authenticity of which:

1. (i)

   relates to the signature and the content of the authentic instrument; and

2. (ii)

   has been established by a public authority or other authority empowered for that purpose by the Member State of origin.

may be made the subject of an appeal to or review by a judicial authority; and

have a similar force and effect as a decision of a judicial authority on the same matter.