Jurisdiction In Insurance

Author : Evangelos Vassilakakis
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (137 download)

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Download or read book International Jurisdiction in Insurance Matters Under Regulation Brussels I. written by Evangelos Vassilakakis and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The conferral of jurisdiction in matters of insurance according to Section 3 of Chapter II of the Regulation 44/2001 (Brussels I) is designed in view of protecting the weaker party who is granted the forum actoris advantage prescribed by Art. 9 par. 1b) of the Regulation. It should be borne in mind that litigation in insurance matters is very often linked to claims arising out of torts. This may lead to a multi-party litigation involving the injured party, the allegedly liable party and their insurers. In this context, the rules of the Regulation on insurance contracts can be the tools for a sophisticated procedural strategy, mainly to the detriment of the insurer who is being rightly held as the economically strong party in the insurance contract. Article 10 enhances the importance of the forum delicti with regard to insurance litigation, in as much as it leads to the “concentration” before the same tribunal of all claims, irrespective of whether they are related to tort liability or to the insurance contract. The place of the harmful event's occurrence is to be determined in conjunction with what is being accepted regarding the interpretation of Article 5 paragraph 3 of Regulation 44/2001. Article 11 allows the joinder of proceedings against the insurer and of proceedings undertaken by the injured party against the insured. The main interpretation issues arise out of Article 11 par. 2. As there is no indication as to under which law it is permissible to bring a direct action against the insurer under this provision, the solution lies in the alternative application of the lex contractus and the lex delicti provided for by Article 18 of Regulation Rome II. The injured party may rely on the analogous application of Article 9 par. 1b) of the Regulation in order to sue the insurer by a direct action before the courts of his domicile. The protection granted to the weaker party under Article 11 par. 2 encompasses even persons who indirectly suffered the damage. Article 13 of the Regulation provides some protection to the policyholder, the insured or the beneficiary: it restricts to a large extent the permissibility of prorogation of jurisdiction in insurance matters, whenever such a prorogation may be presumed to be prejudicial to the weaker contracting party. A more balanced solution for insurance contracts covering aircraft and maritime transport is provided for by Art. 13 point 5 and Art. 14, in particular to the extent that the forum actoris privilege can be annihilated by a prorogation agreement to the contrary.