The choice of court with jurisdiction for hearing a dispute agreed upon by and between the insurer and the perpetrator of the damage is not binding on the victim

The victim, who has the right of action directly against the insurer who entered into an insurance contract with the perpetrator of the damage, is not bound by the agreement on the choice of court and jurisdiction that was concluded by and between the insurer and the perpetrator. Such was the judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the judgement of 13 July 2017 (Case C-368/16).

In the facts constituting the grounds of the judgement that was issued, a Swedish company contracted for the transportation of sugar beet to a factory in Denmark. The company chartered a number of tugs and lighters for the voyage and took out liability insurance with an insurance company. The insurance policy contained a clause selecting the law and the court with jurisdiction, according to which the insurance contract was subject to the laws of England and Wales and each party agreed to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales. In addition the insurer’s terms and conditions of insurance provided that any disputes arising from or related to the insurance shall also be subject solely to the exclusive jurisdiction of the High Court of Justice (of England & Wales) in London.

Unfortunately, the tug chartered by the Swedish company, which was moving within the Danish port of Assens, damaged quay installations. As the Swedish company had, in the meantime, gone into liquidation, Assens Havn brought an action directly against the insurer to remedy the damage caused to the port quay by the tug that was insured by that insurance company.
In the facts of the case, the Court ruled as above. This judgement is also important under Polish law, because judgements of the Court, as secondary Community law, are important to the Polish practice of applying the law.