Brussels, 04/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 4 September, the European Court of Justice ruled, in case C-162/13, that, when the vehicle is correctly used in compliance with its usual function, use is covered by the concept of “use of vehicles” in all circumstances and places and is covered, unless a member state has explicitly excluded a particular vehicle, by compulsory vehicle insurance.
In summer 2007, a tractor to which a trailer was attached, was reversing in a farmyard but struck the ladder on which Slovenian farmer Damijan Vnuk had climbed, causing him to fall. Vnuk brought an action seeking compensation for his non-pecuniary damage, together with default interest, against the insurance company, which had insured the owner of the tractor. That application was dismissed by the insurer on the grounds that a compulsory insurance policy in respect of the use of a motor vehicle covered damage caused by the use of a tractor as a means of transport, but not damage caused when a tractor is used as a machine or propulsion device. The Slovenian Supreme Court called on the Court of Justice to determine whether the concept of “use of vehicles” in the directive (72/166/ECC) covers the obligation to insure against civil liability resulting from the use of motor vehicles.
The European judges firstly determined that the concept of a “vehicle” was separate from its use or what can be done with the vehicle in question. They then had to define “use of” vehicles, which they decided could not be left to each member state to decide. With regard to the development of EU rules in the area of compulsory insurance, it is clear for the Court that, when a vehicle is used in compliance with its usual function, the insurance of civil liability (liability for damages caused to third parties) must apply, unless a member state had precisely excluded protection of a specific kind of vehicle, which is not the case with the tractor in Slovenia. (JK)