Too little, too late? Brexit Day, transitional periods and the implications of MIB v Lewis

Mason, J.; Ferris, Katy

Abstract

For several decades the UK has been in breach of key aspects of the Motor Vehicle Insurance Directives (MVID). This has been observed through academic commentary and confirmed in successful state liability claims. There has also been a manifestly inconsistent approach taken by national courts at first instance and at appeal in the correct application of EU jurisprudence. In 2018 the High Court reversed years of inconsistent jurisprudence and changed key aspects of national protection for the third party victims of negligent uninsured drivers. In short, the 2018 High Court decision in Lewis v Tindale, as confirmed in MIB v Lewis [2019] at the Court of Appeal, extended the geographic scope of compulsory motor insurance, held the national compensatory body as an emanation of the state, and confirmed directly effective elements of the MVID. In relation to motor vehicle insurance, the importance of these decisions cannot be overstated. They represent a genuine sea-change in approach and acceptance nationally of established EU jurisprudence. Yet the victory is likely to be short-lived given the UK's imminent withdrawal from the EU and the intransigence of the government and the MIB to give effect to the rulings.

Citation

Mason, J., & Ferris, K. (2020). Too little, too late? Brexit Day, transitional periods and the implications of MIB v Lewis. European Law Review, 2020(3), 415-426

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 5, 2019
• Publication Date: 2020
• Deposit Date: Sep 9, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 1, 2022
• Journal: European Law Review
• Print ISSN: 0307-5400
• Publisher: Sweet and Maxwell
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 2020
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 415-426
• Keywords: Brexit; direct effect; liability on private land; Motor Insurers' Bureau; motor vehicle insurance directive; Road Traffic Act 1988; statutory interpretation
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2591711
• Publisher URL: https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=7491716