Applicability of Swiss law to an inheritance contract concluded in Switzerland

Facts

The case concerns an inheritance contract that a Swiss married couple had concluded in Switzerland in 1992. The husband passed away in 2003 in France, the wife in 2005 in Brazil. The husband's children applied to have the wife's testamentary dispositions declared invalid, as they violated the inheritance contract. The wife's children argued that under Brazilian law, the inheritance contract was null and void and therefore the wife had been free to dispose of her estate.

The Federal Supreme Court had to decide which law to apply to the inheritance contract. The key question was whether the Brazilian prohibition on inheritance contracts should be taken into account.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court concluded that pursuant to Art. 95(1) and (3) of the Federal Act on Private International Law (PILA), Swiss law is applicable to the inheritance contract. The determining factor is the domicile of the contracting parties at the time the contract was concluded, not the subsequent domicile of the testator in Brazil.

The Federal Supreme Court refused to take into account the Brazilian prohibition on…