header-logo header-logo

Where to sue?

09 May 2014 / Nicholas Bevan
Issue: 7605 / Categories: Features , Personal injury
printer mail-detail
web_bevan

What rights do claimants injured abroad have to sue insurers directly under the Motor Insurance Directives? Nicholas Bevan reports

Some good news at last for beleaguered RTA practitioners and, Nigel Farage please note, this comes from Europe. In the EU, jurisdictional issues are governed by Council Regulation (EC) no 44/2001 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Brussels I). Similar provisions apply to a defendant domiciled in Norway, Iceland, Switzerland or Denmark under the Lugano Convention 2007. If the defendant is based outside the EU/EEA, it is necessary to look to the national laws of the EU state seized of the claim (almost always where the accident occurred) to determine jurisdiction; in the UK the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 applies.

The basic proposition under Brussels I is set out in Art 2(1) which states: “Subject to this regulation, persons domiciled in a member state shall, whatever their nationality, be sued in the courts of that member state.”

As with any basic rule, there are

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Writing in NLJ this week, Victoria Rylatt and Robyn Laye of Anthony Gold Solicitors examine recent international relocation cases where allegations of domestic abuse shaped outcomes
back-to-top-scroll