Italian bodies which classified and certified a Panamanian shipwrecked vessel may be brought to justice, in Advocate General’s view

The victims of the sinking of a Panamanian ship can ask the Italian courts to convict the Italian bodies that classified and certified the ship, concluded the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the EU, Maciej Szpunar, on Tuesday 14 January (Case C-641/18).

The case dates back to 2013, when the court in Genoa, Italy, was heard by the families of victims and survivors of the sinking of the vessel Al-Salam Boccaccio 98, sailing under the Panamanian flag.

The complainants seek the conviction of the Genoa-based organisations Rina SpA and Ente Registro Italiano Navale. They consider that the ship’s certification and classification operations carried out by these organisations were at the origin of the sinking. The bodies, for their part, claim to have acted as delegates of the Republic of Panama and refuse to be referred to the Italian courts, invoking jurisdictional immunity.

Should the Genoa court then drop the case? Or can it exercise jurisdiction “in the name of the place” where the bodies have their seat, as provided for in the Brussels I Regulation (44/2001)?

In the view of the Advocate General, the second alternative takes precedence. An action for damages against these bodies does fall within the scope of the Brussels I Regulation.

Mr Szpunar notes that the Regulation “concerns disputes in civil and commercial matters” and that actions seeking compensation for damage are, in principle, also covered by the Regulation.

For the Regulation not to apply, the operations carried out by the Italian bodies would have to constitute a manifestation of public authority. However, the fact that those operations were delegated by the Panamanian administration does not necessarily mean that there is a manifestation of public authority, the Advocate General points out.

Furthermore, the Committee considers that there is no binding rule in international law allowing organizations to invoke the jurisdictional immunity of States.

To consult the conclusions: http://bit.ly/35VpgNM (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki – intern)