Changing lanes and removing rights: Quashing the judicial activism of the Court of Justice through Directive 2021/2118

Marson, James; Ferris, Katy

Abstract

Since the first Motor Vehicle Insurance Directive (MVID) in 1972, not only did the scope of the legal protection of victims of motor vehicle accidents increase in each of the five subsequent MVID iterations but so did the activism of the Court of Justice to continue the protective momentum. A pivotal judgment came in 2014, when in Vnuk v Zavarovalnica Triglav the Court interpreted the MVID as applying to vehicles on public and private land. Consequently, and following a consultation exercise by the EU Commission, Directive 2021/2118 was enacted which amended the MVID, reversing the effects of Vnuk but also limiting rights for third-party victims of motor vehicle accidents in unexpected ways. In this article, we assess the broad and negative effects of the Directive's implementation and compare how the Commission's 'Roadmap' proposals would have been a far more proportionate response to curb the Court of Justice's activism.

Citation

Marson, J., & Ferris, K. (2022). Changing lanes and removing rights: Quashing the judicial activism of the Court of Justice through Directive 2021/2118. European Law Review, 47(6), 773-790

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 28, 2022
• Publication Date: 2022
• Deposit Date: Oct 11, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 1, 2024
• Print ISSN: 0307-5400
• Publisher: Sweet and Maxwell
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 47
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 773-790
• Keywords: Compulsory insurance; Directive 2021/2118; judicial activism; Motor Vehicle Insurance Directive; third-party victim; Vnuk
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/12321450
• Publisher URL: https://uk.westlaw.com/Document/IF206159077BE11EDB8FEC3B839510C4A/View/FullText.html?navigationPath=Search%2Fv1%2Fresults%2Fnavigation%2Fi0ad6ad3d000001852eb0e6310d2630c1%3Fppcid%3D398b33026d3d4a759fc835a6b566fc58%26Nav%3DUK-JOURNALS-PUBLICATION%26fragmen
• Additional Information: This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in European Law Review following peer review. The definitive published version . EL. Rev. 2022, 47(6), 773-790 is available online at Westlaw UK.