Party Autonomy and Conflict-of-Jurisdictions in the EU Private International Law on Family and Succession Matters

The paper provides an overview of party autonomy with regard to jurisdictional rules under the recent EU private international law regulations on family and succession matters, by addressing the issue from a teleological, systematic and analytical point of view. Accordingly, the paper analyses the (specific) legislative policies underlying the prorogation of jurisdiction and the interplay between the choice-of-law and the choice-of-court in these matters. It finally examines the content and modalities of the electio fori in the context of the instruments concerned, adopted or proposed by the European Institutions in relation to family and succession matters. This investigation demonstrates that prorogation has a restricted role in this area, both in the manner of determining the competent court to adjudicate the case and in relation to the formal requirements for validity. Furthermore, the article highlights some asymmetries in the overall regulatory framework of party autonomy as electio fori and electio legis: i.e. the lack of party autonomy in matrimonial matters under Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 and the imperfect parallelism between jus and forum in certain areas of family and succession law.