Tribunalul Ilfov; 2015-09-15; 1980/93/2015
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:RO:TBILF:2016:007.002147
Date: 2016-09-15
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Romania

82016RO0915(52)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
This case regards compensation for damages suffered as a result of a car accident, finally resolved by the Tribunalul Ilfov (hereinafter ‘Court of First Instance in Ilfov’)
A natural person domiciled in Romania (hereinafter ‘the plaintiff’) was involved in a traffic accident caused by the driver of a car insured by a foreign insurance company (hereinafter ‘the defendant’). The plaintiff brought a case before the Tribunalul București (hereinafter ‘the Court of First Instance in Bucharest’) and sought RON 1893 as compensation for material damage and EUR 150 000 for non-material damage.
There was a negative conflict of jurisdiction between the Court of First Instance in Bucharest and the Court of First Instance in Ilfov, so the case was referred to the Curtea de Apel Bucureşti (hereinafter ‘the Court of Appeal’) for a decision on the jurisdiction. The Court of Appeal explained the conditions under which a foreign insurer, acting within the International Green Card System framework, should be sued in damage cases resulting from accidents caused in the territory of Romania. It further explained the role of Biroul Asigurătorilor de Autovehicule din Romania (B.A.A.R., Bureau of Motor Insurers of Romania) and the relation between B.A.A.R. and the insurer responsible for settling the insurance claim. The court invoked the Legea 136/1995 (1), according to which the person against whom the compensation claim is brought is the insurer. The lawsuit against the insurer may be brought through its representative office or B.A.A.R. Therefore, the territorial jurisdiction cannot be determined by Article 13 of the Brussels I Regulation (recast) (2), but rather according to Articles 11(1)(a) or (b) or Article 12 of the same Regulation. The Court of Appeal finally established the jurisdiction of the Court of First Instance in Ilfov.
The Court of First Instance in Ilfov confirmed that the plaintiff is eligible for payment of material damage (for the expenses related to the accident) and non-material damages (as compensation for the psychical trauma suffered from the accident). The court confirmed that the requested payment for the material damages is reliably based on existing expenses and awarded the plaintiff the full amount of RON 1893 as requested.
Regarding the non-material damages, the amount of the compensation to be paid is at the court’s discretion. The principle to be followed is that the money to be awarded must have compensatory effects and must not become a means of enrichment for the plaintiff. The court considered all relevant aspects forming the non-material damage and awarded the plaintiff by compensation of EUR 30 000.
The Court of First Instance in Ilfov ordered the defendant to pay the given sums to the plaintiff.
(1) Legea 136/1995 privind asigurările și reasigurările în România (Law No 136/1995 on insurance and reinsurance in Romania).
(2) Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters.