FARRELL V WHITTY

Case C-413/15, Court of Justice of the European Union, 10 October 2017

Insurance (motor) - Direct effect of EU law - Whether Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland an emanation of the state

In 1996 Ms Farrell was injured in a motor vehicle accident while seated on the floor of a van being driven by Mr Whitty. The van was not equipped to carry passengers. Mr Whitty was uninsured, and Ms Farrell sought compensation from Motor Insurers' Bureau of Ireland, the designated compensation body for uninsured and untraced driver claims under the Consolidated Motor Insurance Directive 2009. The MIBI had been established some years earlier by agreement between the government of Ireland and the motor insurance industry. Her claim was refused on the ground that the compulsory insurance requirement did not apply to her. In earlier proceedings, Farrell v Whitty Case C-356/05, [2007] Lloyd's Rep IR 525, the CJEU ruled that the Directives precluded legislation that excluded from the compulsory insurance requirement cover for a passenger in a vehicle not designed for carrying passengers was inconsistent with the Directive. The court also held that the Directive was unconditional and precise and of direct effect so that it could be relied upon as part of domestic law in the national courts.