Das Fiskuserbrecht im Internationalen Privatrecht

The right to bona vacantia causes problems in private international law. If the estate is situated in a state other than the state of nationality or the state of domicile of the deceased, characterisation and application of the right are difficult. It is doubtful which State has the right to take the estate. The reason for this is that the right to bona vacantia differs in each national law. Martin Heckel deals with the main legal systems and explains their internal provisions and their conflict of laws provisions. His comparative analysis shows that up to now no satisfactory solution has been obtained for those cases in which the right to bona vacantia is to be enforced in a foreign country. To remedy this, he has developed his own legal rule which takes material interests and conflict of laws interests into consideration and also makes it possible to determine in a predictable and coherent manner which State is entitled to the estate. This rule could form part of a future European private international law of succession. The study also contains an English summary.