Model Rules on Success and Access to Digital Remains – Published
We are delighted to announce that the European Law Institutes ‘Model Rules on Success and Access to Digital Remains’ have been approved and published.
The framework has been is now available for the legal, technology, policy and other professionals working within the space of digital assets and digital legacy.
The Digital Legacy Association were appointed as an Observer for the framework and look forward to witnessing and supporting its impact and value in the months and years to come.
Why the Model Rules are important
The Model Rules provide the first comprehensive European framework for dealing with digital assets and personal digital content after death.
As people’s lives increasingly extend into the digital world, individuals leave behind online accounts, cloud storage, social media profiles, digital wallets, creative works, and AI-enabled digital representations. Yet legal systems have struggled to answer fundamental questions about who may inherit, access, or manage these digital remains while respecting privacy and the wishes of the deceased.
The newly approved Model Rules offer an innovative and practical solution by recognising that not all digital content should be treated alike. Rather than forcing all digital remains into traditional succession law or data protection law, the Rules establish a dual legal framework:
ELI Model Rules on Succession and Access to Digital Remains – Launch Event, Brussels
- Thursday 5 November 2026
- Da Vinci Room, Avenue des Arts 56, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
ELI Framework Launch Event Speakers
- Prof Dr Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell – President, European Law Institute – recorded address
- Dr Edina Harbinja – ELI Co-Reporter; Associate Professor in Law, University of Birmingham
- Prof Dr Antoine Eigenmann – ELI Co-Reporter; Attorney-at-Law; Professor, University of Fribourg
- Prof Elwira Macierzyńska-Franaszczyk –Professor, Kozminski University
- Prof Francesco Paolo Patti – Professor of Private Law, Bocconi University
- Dr Tamás Sajben – Notary, Hungarian Chamber of Notaries
- Prof Sjef van Erp – University of Amsterdam; Professor Emeritus, Maastricht University
- James Norris – Founder, Digital Legacy Association
- Jack Burroughs TEP – Senior Associate, Quastels; representing STEP
- Theo Leyh LLM – Legal Counsel, Royal Dutch Notarial Association (KNB)
- Iain Ostrowski-Rogers – Scrivener Notary, England and Wales
- Prof Gianclaudio Malgieri – Professor of Law, Maastricht University; Honorary Director, Brussels Privacy Hub
- Prof Albert Ruda – University of Girona; Member, ELI Council
If you would like to request an invitation for the upcoming launch event please contact us directly for consideration.
Other News
European Law Institute – Model Rules on Succession and Access to Digital Remains – Published & Launched
Model Rules on Success and Access to Digital Remains - Published We are delighted to
