Order of the Court (Eighth Chamber) of 27 November 2023 –
Groupama Asigurări

(Case C‑310/23)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling – Article 99 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice – Questions the answer to which may be clearly deduced from the Court’s existing case-law – Article 267 TFEU – Interpretation of an earlier judgment of the Court of Justice – Judicial cooperation in civil matters – Regulations (EC) No 864/2007 and (EC) No 593/2008 – Accident caused by a vehicle towing a semi-trailer – Vehicle and semi-trailer insured by different insurers – Accident which occurred in a Member State other than that in which the insurance contracts were concluded – Action for indemnity between the insurers – Applicable law)

1.      Questions referred for a preliminary ruling – Jurisdiction of the Court – Acts of the institutions – Interpretation of the grounds of a previous judgment of the Court – Included

(Art. 267, first para., point (b), TFEU)

(see paragraphs 18, 19, operative part 1)

2.      Judicial cooperation in civil matters – Law applicable to contractual obligations – Regulation No 593/2008 – Law applicable to non-contractual obligations – Regulation No 864/2007 – Accident caused by a tractor coupled with a semi-trailer, each vehicle being insured by different insurers – Action for indemnity between the insurers – Apportionment of the obligation to pay compensation – Possibility for the insurer of the tractor to exercise the rights of the victim against the insurer of the semi-trailer – Applicable law

(European Parliament and Council Regulations No 593/2008, Art. 7, and No 864/2007, Arts 4 et seq.)

(see paragraphs 21, 22, operative part 2)

Operative part

1. Subparagraph (b) of the first paragraph of Article 267 TFEU must be interpreted as meaning that a national court which is uncertain as regards the interpretation of the grounds of a preliminary ruling of the Court of Justice that was delivered following a request for a preliminary ruling made by another national court may refer to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling questions concerning the interpretation of those grounds.

2. Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I) and Regulation (EC) No 864/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 July 2007 on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations (Rome II)

must be interpreted as meaning that, in the context of an action for indemnity brought by the insurer of a tractor, which has compensated the victim of an accident caused by the driver of that tractor, against the insurer of a semi-trailer which, at the time of that accident, was coupled to that tractor, it must be established, first of all, in accordance with the applicable law determined pursuant to Article 4 et seq. of Regulation No 864/2007, whether and to what extent the damages payable to that victim are to be divided, where appropriate in equal parts, between, on the one hand, the driver and the owner of the tractor concerned and, on the other, the owner of the semi-trailer which was coupled to that tractor, and thus between the respective insurers of that tractor and that semi-trailer. Second, it must be determined whether, in accordance with the law applicable, pursuant to Article 7 of Regulation No 593/2008, to the insurance contract in question, the insurer of that tractor, which has compensated that victim, may, by way of subrogation, exercise that victim’s rights, as recognised by the law applicable pursuant to Article 4 et seq. of Regulation No 864/2007, against the insurer of that semi-trailer.