Tribunalul Arad; 2017-05-22; 1867/108/2016
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:RO:TBARD:2017:034.000354
Date: 2017-05-22
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Romania

82017RO0522(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
A traffic accident occurred in the territory of the Republic of Slovenia that caused the total destruction of a vehicle and the death of four passengers, Romanian citizens.
The plaintiffs brought a civil action against the defendant - the insurance company that issued the green card for the damaged car. The plaintiffs sought an order that the defendant should pay civil damages for the accident. Namely, the material damages for the estimated value of the car which was destroyed in its entirety as a result of the road accident in the territory of the Republic of Slovenia and non-material damages for the death of the four passengers in the car.
The Tribunalul Arad ((hereinafter ‘the Court of First Instance’) partially upheld the action for damages arising from the insurance policy connected to the green card and obliged the defendant, as the insurance company issuing the green card, to pay to the plaintiffs compensation for the material and non-material damages.
The Court of First Instance cited Article 4 of the Regulation (EC) No 864/2007 (1):
‘1. Unless otherwise provided for in this Regulation, the law applicable to a non-contractual obligation arising out of a tort/delict shall be the law of the country in which the damage occurs irrespective of the country in which the event giving rise to the damage occurred and irrespective of the country or countries in which the indirect consequences of that event occur.
2. However, where the person claimed to be liable and the person sustaining damage both have their habitual residence in the same country at the time when the damage occurs, the law of that country shall apply.
3. Where it is clear from all the circumstances of the case that the tort/delict is manifestly more closely connected with a country other than that indicated in paragraphs 1 or 2, the law of that other country shall apply. A manifestly closer connection with another country might be based in particular on a pre-existing relationship between the parties, such as a contract, that is closely connected with the tort/delict in question.’
Accordingly, since the place where the accident occurred was in the Republic of Slovenia, the action brought by the plaintiffs was assessed under the legal provisions of Slovenian law.
(1) Regulation (EC) No 864/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 July 2007 on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations (Rome II).