Cross-border Debt Recovery Blog
by Marco Sposini
Laywer, Milan Bar Association
Worldwide debt recovery news
The Court of Justice on Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 864/2007 (Rome II)
5 September 2024
The Court of Justice of the European Union, by judgment ECLI:EU:C:2024:689, dated 5 September 2024, in Case C‑86/23 – in proceedings between E.N.I. and Y.K.I., Bulgarian nationals, and HUK-COBURG-Allgemeine Versicherung AG concerning compensation by the latter, on the basis of compulsory civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles, for nonmaterial damage suffered by E.N.I. and Y.K.I. as a result of the death of their daughter in a road traffic accident, which occurred in Germany – ruled that Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 864/2007 on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations (Rome II) must be interpreted as meaning that a national provision under which compensation for nonmaterial damage suffered by the close family members of a person who died in a road traffic accident is determined by the court on the basis of fairness cannot be regarded as an ‘overriding mandatory provision’, within the meaning of that article, unless, where the legal situation in question has sufficiently close links with the Member State of the forum, the court before which the case has been brought finds, on the basis of a detailed analysis of the wording, general scheme, objectives and the context in which that national provision was adopted, that respect for it is regarded as crucial in the legal order of the Member State, on the ground that it pursues an objective of safeguarding an essential public interest that cannot be achieved by the application of the law designated pursuant to Article 4 of that regulation.
The text is available here