Succession Agreements and Public Policy Within EU Regulation No. 650/2012

The essay explores the intersections between succession agreements and the public policy defence within the framework of the European Succession Regulation. After narrowing down the relevant notion of succession agreements under the Regulation and illustrating the criteria to determine the applicable law, it will be argued that the hypothetical succession law best serves legal certainty and the desire of the person whose succession is concerned to plan his succession pursuant to predictable and indisputable provisions. The concept of public policy will be elucidated, drawing a clear dividing line between its domestic and international variations, and showing that the distinction lies in their content and function. The essay ends with some remarks on the possible conflict of succession agreements with public policy. While it is true that, in countries that prohibit them, succession agreements clash with domestic public policy, it is no less true that they do not per se run contrary to international public policy, except for some circumstances in which the solidarity-based reasons behind forced heirship are impaired.