Case C‑334/16
José Luís Núñez Torreiro
v
AIG Europe Limited, Sucursal en España
and
Unión Española de Entidades Aseguradoras y Reaseguradoras (Unespa)
(Request for a preliminary ruling from the Audiencia Provincial de Albacete)
Reference for a preliminary ruling — Compulsory insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles — Directive 2009/103/EC — Article 3, first paragraph — Concept of ‘use of vehicles’ — National legislation excluding the driving of motor vehicles on roads and terrain that are not ‘suitable for use by motor vehicles’, with the exception of those which, though not suitable, are nonetheless ‘ordinarily so used’)
Summary — Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber), 20 December 2017
1.        Approximation of laws — Insurance against civil liability in respect of motor vehicles — Directive 2009/103 — Concept of ‘vehicle’ — Military vehicle fitted with ‘Anibal’ wheels — Included
(European Parliament and Council Directive 2009/103, Art. 1, point 1 and 5)
2.        Approximation of laws — Insurance against civil liability in respect of motor vehicles — Directive 2009/103 — Concept of ‘use of vehicles’— Use of a vehicle in accordance with its normal function — Effect of the characteristics of the terrain on which the motor vehicle is used — None
(European Parliament and Council Directive 2009/103, Art. 3, first para.; Council Directive 72/166, Art. 3(1))
3.        Approximation of laws — Insurance against civil liability in respect of motor vehicles — Directive 2009/103 — Concept of ‘use of vehicles’ — Use of a vehicle in a military area not suitable for the use of wheeled vehicles — Included — National legislation excluding from compulsory insurance cover injuries and damage that result from the driving of motor vehicles on roads or terrain that are not suitable for use by motor vehicles — Not permissible
(European Parliament and Council Directive 2009/103, Art. 3, first para.)
1.      See the text of the judgment.
(see para 22)
2.      See the text of the judgment.
(see paras 24, 28, 30)
3.      The first paragraph of Article 3 of Directive 2009/103/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 relating to insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles, and the enforcement of the obligation to insure against such liability, must be interpreted as precluding national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which makes it possible to exclude from compulsory insurance cover injuries and damage that result from the driving of motor vehicles on roads or terrain that are not ‘suitable for use by motor vehicles’, with the exception of roads or terrain which, although not suitable for that purpose, are nonetheless ‘ordinarily so used’.
There is, moreover, no provision in Directive 2009/103 that limits the scope of the insurance obligation, and of the protection which that obligation is intended to give to the victims of accidents caused by motor vehicles, to the use of such vehicles on certain terrain or on certain roads (see, to that effect, judgment of 28 November 2017, Rodrigues de Andrade, C‑514/16, EU:C:2017:908, paragraph 36). In this case, it is undisputed that the vehicle at issue was being used, at the time when it overturned and thereby injured Mr Núñez Torreiro, as a means of transport. Such use therefore falls within the scope of the concept of ‘use of vehicles’, within the meaning of the first paragraph of Article 3 of Directive 2009/103. The fact that, as is stated in the order for reference, the vehicle at issue was being used, at the time when it overturned, in a military exercise area access to which was prohibited for all non-military vehicles and in a part of that area which was not suitable for the use of wheeled vehicles, cannot have any effect on that conclusion and cannot, therefore, limit the insurance obligation that stems from that provision.
(see paras 31-34, 36, operative part)