Tribunal da Relação do Porto; 2024-01-04; 1174/23.8T8OAZ.P1.BF
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:PT:TRP:2024:1174.23.8T8OAZ.P1.BF
Date: 2024-01-11
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Portugal

82024PT0111(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
This case regards a question of international jurisdiction in an insurance case brought before the Tribunal da Relação do Porto (hereinafter ‘the Court of Appeal’).
A company domiciled in Portugal (hereinafter ‘the plaintiff’) brought a case against an insurance company domiciled in France (hereinafter ‘the defendant’), but with a representation in Portugal, for damages arising from a traffic accident that occurred in France caused by a vehicle insured by the defendant. The Tribunal Judicial da Comarca de Aveiro (hereinafter ‘the Court of First Instance’) upheld the defendant's plea of lack of international jurisdiction of the Portuguese courts to hear the claim and dismissed the case, relying on Articles 1, 4, 5 and Article 7(2) of the Brussels I Regulation (recast) (1) and Article 96(a), Article 97(1) and Article 99(1) of the CPC (2).
The plaintiff appealed to the Court of Appeal, arguing that the Court of First Instance had misapplied the Brussels I Regulation (recast), specifically Article 13(2).
The Court of Appeal recalled the primacy of European Union law over national law and confirmed that the Brussels I Regulation (recast) applies to this case. Article 13(2) of the Brussels I Regulation (recast) provides that ‘Articles 10, 11 and 12 shall apply to actions brought by the injured party directly against the insurer, where such direct actions are permitted.’ Article 11(1)(b) of the Brussels I Regulation (recast) then provides that ‘an insurer domiciled in a Member State may be sued in another Member State, in the case of actions brought by the policyholder, the insured or a beneficiary, in the courts for the place where the claimant is domiciled’.
The Court of Appeal cited case law from both national courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union. It held that based on the Brussels I Regulation (recast), the Portuguese courts have international jurisdiction to hear a dispute in which the plaintiff domiciled in Portugal is suing the French insurance company with representation in Portugal for damages arising from a traffic accident that occured in France (with a vehicle insured by the latter), pursuant to the principle of protection of weaker party and because direct action is possible under the terms of Article 146(1) of Decreto-Lei n.º 72/2008 (Legal Regime of Insurance Contracts) (3).
Consequently, the appeal was upheld, and the decision of the Court of First Instance was revoked. The Court of First Instance was declared to have international jurisdiction to hear the case, and the proceedings were ordered to continue.
(1) 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 (recast).
(2) Código de Processo Civil (Code of Civil Procedure).
(3) Decreto-Lei n.º 72/2008 (Decree-Law 72/2008).