Background
Antonio and Andrea Sidoli brought proceedings in Italy after the death of Davide Sidoli, whom they asserted was their father. Davide, an Italian citizen domiciled and resident in England, had denied paternity and left his estate under an English will to his brother Dante Sidoli and sister-in-law Anna Moruzzi. The Italian courts found that Antonio and Andrea were Davide’s children, invalidated relevant testamentary provisions, declared them heirs, and ordered Dante and Anna to pay €381,796.31. The Bologna Court of Appeal dismissed the defendants’ appeal.
Antonio and Andrea sought registration and enforcement of the Italian judgments in England under the Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1933. Deputy Master Dew refused registration, principally because the Italian proceedings concerned succession to the estate of a person domiciled in England and were not an action in personam for which Italian jurisdiction was recognized under the Act. Antonio and Andrea appealed.
The Court’s Holding
Mr Justice Thompsell allowed the appeal only in part. He agreed that the Italian judgments were not actions in personam. Because they addressed paternity and legitimacy, purported to invalidate an English will, and made determinations concerning property, they fell within section 4(2)(c) of the 1933 Act. Registration was therefore available only to the extent that English conflict-of-laws rules recognized the Italian courts’ jurisdiction.
The English court would not recognize Italian jurisdiction to invalidate Davide’s English will or determine succession to assets situated in the United Kingdom where Davide was domiciled in England. It would, however, recognize Italian jurisdiction over succession to Italian immovable property. The Deputy Master therefore erred by refusing registration of the judgments in their entirety instead of separating the matters within Italian jurisdiction from those outside it.
The court held that €45,865.79 of the substantive award could be registered, representing the relevant Italian real property, together with prorated appeal costs of €244.28, for a total of €46,110.07 plus Italian statutory interest from 21 February 2020. It also permitted registration of the parties’ joint and several obligation concerning the Italian technical adviser’s costs and associated contribution rights.
Key Takeaways
- A foreign succession judgment involving several distinct issues may be registered only to the extent that English law recognizes the foreign court’s jurisdiction over each issue.
- Italian courts had jurisdiction, for English recognition purposes, over succession to Italian immovable property, but not over the validity of an English will or succession to United Kingdom assets of an English-domiciled deceased.
- The 1933 Act does not require an all-or-nothing approach: an English court may separate a single foreign monetary award and register only the portion attributable to matters within the foreign court’s recognized jurisdiction.
Why It Matters
The decision clarifies how English courts should treat foreign inheritance judgments that combine questions of status, probate, succession, and property in multiple countries. The court must analyze the judgment issue by issue rather than reject or enforce it wholesale.
For cross-border estates, the ruling underscores that a foreign court’s authority over local real estate does not extend to invalidating an English will or controlling succession to English assets merely because the deceased held the foreign country’s citizenship.