Gloss to the Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 29 October 2021 (Request for a Preliminary Ruling from the District Court in Opatów – Poland) HG and TC v. the Insurance Guarantee Fund, Case C-688/20

Abstract

The publication is an approving gloss to the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 29 October 2021 in Case C-688/20, HG and TC v. the Insurance Guarantee Fund. The judgment addresses two important issues: on the one hand, the scope of compulsory insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles in accordance with the first paragraph of Article 3 of Directive 2009/103 and, on the other hand, the relationship between EU legislation (in this case directives) and national regulations. In the context of the compatibility of the criteria for the existence of an insurance obligation under the first paragraph of Article 3 of Directive 2009/103 (5th Motor Directive), the Court of Justice upheld the earlier line of case-law in a logical and consistent way, by referring to the formal condition that a vehicle is registered and roadworthy in accordance with the national legislation in force. That judgment indicates the discrepancy between national and EU legislations in terms of the conditions for compulsory insurance. Although Article 23(1) of the Law on Compulsory Insurance, the Insurance Guarantee Fund and the Polish Motor Insurers' Bureau links the insurance obligation with the mere fact of a vehicle ownership, the interpretation of the first paragraph of Article 3 of Directive 2009/103 presented by the Court of Justice allows for the exemption from that obligation in the event of formal deregistration of a vehicle or its withdrawal from use under relevant national regulations. Nevertheless, the existence of such discrepancy is not an objection to the commented judgment. It is the role of the Court of Justice to ensure that EU legislation is interpreted in an autonomous and uniform manner throughout the European Union.