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22 February 2013 / Nicholas Bevan
Issue: 7549 / Categories: Features , Insurance / reinsurance , Personal injury
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On the right road (Pt IV)

In his final article on compensation for motor victims, Nicholas Bevan compares & contrasts UK & EU provisions

There is a strong case to argue that the Uninsured Drivers Agreement 1999 (the 1999 agreement) is part and parcel of our national law and thus subject to the Marleasing interpretive principle (see Marleasing SA v La Comercial Internacional de Alimentacion SA [1990] ECR I-4135) and that the normal rules of construction that apply to private agreements produce the same purposive outcome anyway. Furthermore, as the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) is probably an emanation of state, any material departure from the minimum levels of compensatory protection prescribed by the Motor Vehicle Insurance Directives (MVIDs) is directly enforceable by the courts.  Even if direct effect does not apply, the UK government is liable for losses sustained by claimants through its failure to properly implement the MVIDs under Francovich and others [1991] ECR 1-5357.

It is arguable, following the ECJ ruling in Churchill, that the 1999 agreement is now confined to the dwindling

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Partner joins commercial property team in Taunton office

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Londstanding London firm appoints new senior partner

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Commercial team in London welcomes technology specialist as partner

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A flat-rate, ‘events-based’ redress scheme for families of postmasters severely affected by the Horizon IT miscarriage of justice scandal is due to open in the summer
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