The recent Irish case of Farrell 2 is ‘especially welcome in the shadow of Brexit’, writes insurance law solicitor Nick Bevan in this week’s NLJ.
The case, in which a woman sitting in the back of an uninsured van suffered grave injuries, is important because the European Court of Justice found that an EU Directive has direct effect on the motorists of Ireland, including those parts of the directive not yet written into domestic law.
Bevan says the direct effect finding may be particularly useful in the run-up to Brexit ‘as there is a distinct risk, in this twilight period of EU law primacy, that a court might feel disinclined to apply a robust EU law consistent construction to bridge one of these lacunae’. The ruling means individuals can ‘rely directly on the wording of a Directive in an ordinary civil action’.
However, he concludes, ‘Sadly, this EU law remedy will probably lapse for all claims that postdate Brexit.’
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