AAS „BTA Baltic Insurance Company”, anciennement „Balcia Insurance” SE v „Baltijas Apdrošināšanas Nams” AS.
Date: 2018-11-15
31


In this regard, it must be recalled that the concept of ‘use of vehicles’, referred to in Article 3(1) the First Directive, cannot be left to the assessment of each Member State, but is an autonomous concept of EU law, which must be interpreted, in accordance with the Court’s settled case-law, in the light, in particular, of the context of that provision and the objectives pursued by the rules of which it is part (judgments of 4 September 2014, Vnuk, C‑162/13, EU:C:2014:2146, paragraphs 41 and 42, and of 28 November 2017, Rodrigues de Andrade, C‑514/16, EU:C:2017:908, paragraph 31).
32


Moreover, the aim of EU legislation concerning insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of vehicles is, on the one hand, to ensure the free movement of vehicles normally based on European Union territory and of persons travelling in those vehicles, and, on the other hand, to guarantee that the victims of accidents caused by those vehicles receive comparable treatment irrespective of where in the European Union the accident occurred (see, to that effect, judgments of 23 October 2012,Marques Almeida, C‑300/10, EU:C:2012:656, paragraph 26; of 4 September 2014, Vnuk, C‑162/13, EU:C:2014:2146, paragraph 50; and of 28 November 2017, Rodrigues de Andrade, C‑514/16, EU:C:2017:908, paragraph 32).
33


In addition, the development of that legislation shows that the objective of protecting the victims of accidents caused by those vehicles has continuously been pursued and reinforced by the EU legislature (judgments of 4 September 2014, Vnuk, C‑162/13, EU:C:2014:2146, paragraphs 52 to 55, and of 28 November 2017, Rodrigues de Andrade, C‑514/16, EU:C:2017:908, paragraph 33).
34


In the light of those considerations, the Court has ruled that Article 3(1) of the First Directive must be interpreted as meaning that the concept of ‘use of vehicles’ in that provision is not limited to road use, that is to say, to travel on public roads, but that that concept covers any use of a vehicle that is consistent with the normal function of that vehicle (judgments of 4 September 2014, Vnuk, C‑162/13, EU:C:2014:2146, paragraph 59, and of 28 November 2017, Rodrigues de Andrade, C‑514/16, EU:C:2017:908, paragraph 34).
35


In that regard, the Court has stated that, as the motor vehicles referred to in Article 1(1) of the First Directive, are, irrespective of their characteristics, intended normally to serve as a means of transport, that concept covers any use of a vehicle as a means of transport (judgment of 28 November 2017, Rodrigues de Andrade, C‑514/16, EU:C:2017:908, paragraphs 37 and 38).
38


It must be recalled, first, that the fact that the vehicle involved in the accident was stationary when the accident occurred does not, in itself, preclude the use of that vehicle at that time from falling within the scope of its function as a means of transport and, therefore, within the scope of the concept of ‘use of vehicles’ within the meaning of Article 3(1) of the First Directive (judgment of 28 November 2017, Rodrigues de Andrade, C‑514/16, EU:C:2017:908, paragraph 39). The opening of doors is usually only done when vehicles are stationary.
39


Furthermore, the Court has also stated that whether or not the motor of the vehicle concerned was running at the time when the accident occurred is not conclusive either (judgment of 28 November 2017, Rodrigues de Andrade, C‑514/16, EU:C:2017:908, paragraph 39).
40


As regards, secondly, the fact that the vehicles at issue in the main proceedings were in a car park, it should be recalled that the scope of the concept of ‘use of vehicles’, within the meaning of Article 3(1) of the First Directive, does not depend on the characteristics of the terrain on which the vehicle is used (see, to that effect, judgments of 28 November 2017, Rodrigues de Andrade, C‑514/16, EU:C:2017:908, paragraph 35; and of 20 December 2017, Núñez Torreiro, C‑334/16, EU:C:2017:1007, paragraph 30).
46


Finally, it must be recalled that the EU legislation concerning civil liability insurance in respect of the use of vehicles prevents the exclusion of the insurer’s obligation to compensate a victim of a road traffic accident involving an insured vehicle when the accident has been caused by a person who is not the person covered by the insurance policy (see, to that effect, judgment of 1 December 2011, Churchill Insurance Company Limited and Evans, C‑442/10, EU:C:2011:799, paragraphs 33 to 44 and the case-law cited).