The Right to a Compulsory Share in Inheritance as Part of Public International Order (in Connection with the Judgments of the ECHR of 15 February 2024)

In most countries of continental Europe there is a right to a compulsory share in inheritance in favour of children and spouse of the testator, which is not conditioned by the neediness of heirs and which limits the ability of this testator to dispose of his property in case of death. This institution ensures equality of heirs and indirectly preserves family peace. These ethical considerations have led to the recognition of the right to a compulsory share as constitutionally protected in Germany, as well as to the struggle for its protection in cross-border relations on the part of the French legislator. The defenders of the compulsory share institution are opposed by international trends coming from the Anglo-Saxon world, where the compulsory share institution does not exist: the pan-European Succession Regulation applicable to inheritances opened after 17 August 2015 inheritances, contains vague rules on the status of the compulsory share as a value protected by public policy, and the European Court of Human Rights by two decisions of 15 February 2024 refused the heirs of the French composers M. Jarre and M. Colombier in defence of their French statutory right to the compulsory share against the absolute freedom of will in Anglo-American law.