Case C‑371/12

Enrico Petillo

and

Carlo Petillo

v

Unipol Assicurazioni SpA

(Request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunale di Tivoli)

‛Compulsory insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles — Directive 72/166/EEC, Directive 84/5/EEC, Directive 90/232/EEC and Directive 2009/103/EEC — Road traffic accident — Non-material damage — Compensation — National provisions establishing methods of calculation specific to road traffic accidents which are less favourable to victims than those provided for under the ordinary rules of civil liability — Compatibility with those directives’

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber), 23 January 2014

Approximation of laws — Insurance against civil liability in respect of motor vehicles — Obligations of the Member States — General obligation to ensure that vehicles normally based in their territory are covered by insurance — Scope — Limits (Council Directives 72/166, Art. 3(1) and 84/5, as amended by Directive 2005/14) Approximation of laws — Insurance against civil liability in respect of motor vehicles — Directives 72/166 and 84/5 — Determining the rules of civil liability applicable to road traffic accidents — Competence of the Member States — Limits (Council Directives 72/166, Art. 1, para. 2, and 84/5, as amended by Directive 2005/14) Approximation of laws — Insurance against civil liability in respect of motor vehicles — Directives 72/166 and 84/5 — Scope — Notion of ‘personal injuries’ — Scope — Non-material damage suffered by persons as a result of a road traffic accident — Included — Condition (Council Directives 72/166 and 84/5, as amended by Directive 2005/14) Approximation of laws — Insurance against civil liability in respect of motor vehicles — Directives 72/166 and 84/5 — Determining the rules of civil liability applicable to road traffic accidents — Compensation for non-material damage — National legislation limiting the compensation payable for such damage in comparison with the ordinary rules of civil liability — Lawfulness (Council Directives 72/166, Art. 3(1) and 84/5, as amended by Directive 2005/14, Art. 1(1) and (2))

See the text of the decision. (see paras 26-28) See the text of the decision. (see paras 29-33, 42) See the text of the decision. (see paras 34, 35) Article 3(1) of Directive 72/166 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles, and to the enforcement of the obligation to insure against such liability, and Article 1(1) and (2) of Directive 84/5 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles, as amended by Directive 2005/14, must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation which lays down a specific compensation scheme for non-material damage resulting from minor physical injuries caused by road traffic accidents, limiting the compensation payable for such damage in comparison with the compensation allowed for identical damage arising from causes other than those accidents. Such national legislation falls within the scope of the substantive national civil liability law to which the Directive 72/166 and Directive 84/5 refer and it is not such as to limit the cover of civil liability provided for under EU law, under which civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles, determined according to the applicable national law, will be covered by insurance in accordance, inter alia, with those directives. (see paras 39, 47, operative part)

Case C‑371/12

Enrico Petillo

and

Carlo Petillo

v

Unipol Assicurazioni SpA

(Request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunale di Tivoli)

‛Compulsory insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles — Directive 72/166/EEC, Directive 84/5/EEC, Directive 90/232/EEC and Directive 2009/103/EEC — Road traffic accident — Non-material damage — Compensation — National provisions establishing methods of calculation specific to road traffic accidents which are less favourable to victims than those provided for under the ordinary rules of civil liability — Compatibility with those directives’

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber), 23 January 2014

Approximation of laws — Insurance against civil liability in respect of motor vehicles — Obligations of the Member States — General obligation to ensure that vehicles normally based in their territory are covered by insurance — Scope — Limits (Council Directives 72/166, Art. 3(1) and 84/5, as amended by Directive 2005/14) Approximation of laws — Insurance against civil liability in respect of motor vehicles — Directives 72/166 and 84/5 — Determining the rules of civil liability applicable to road traffic accidents — Competence of the Member States — Limits (Council Directives 72/166, Art. 1, para. 2, and 84/5, as amended by Directive 2005/14) Approximation of laws — Insurance against civil liability in respect of motor vehicles — Directives 72/166 and 84/5 — Scope — Notion of ‘personal injuries’ — Scope — Non-material damage suffered by persons as a result of a road traffic accident — Included — Condition (Council Directives 72/166 and 84/5, as amended by Directive 2005/14) Approximation of laws — Insurance against civil liability in respect of motor vehicles — Directives 72/166 and 84/5 — Determining the rules of civil liability applicable to road traffic accidents — Compensation for non-material damage — National legislation limiting the compensation payable for such damage in comparison with the ordinary rules of civil liability — Lawfulness (Council Directives 72/166, Art. 3(1) and 84/5, as amended by Directive 2005/14, Art. 1(1) and (2))