Compensation of close relatives of victims of traffic accidents; consequential/indirect losses Luxembourg 14 th Conference - Traffic law days - Sorin Greceanu 09 Oct 2013

Practical case Christopher Martin was 42 years old at the time of his fatal road accident on March 15th, 2013 in ROMANIA. His wife, Marylin Martin was 46 years old and her two children, Nicolas and Jennifer, 15 and 12 years old. Christopher Martin was a bank employee, his annual net income was 32,000 €. Marylin Martin is a teacher, her annual net income is 26,000 €. Expenses of the funerals (according to the invoices): - Construction of a grave for 6 persons: 5,600 € - Funerary coffin, ceremony, funeral expenses according to invoices: 2750 € - Funeral notices and book of condolences: 210 € - Thank you cards: 150 € Other expenses: accommodation of the brother of the deceased (2 nights with breakfast): 210 € In addition to his two children and his wife, Christopher had his two parents, a brother and a sister, and his grandmother (the latter did not live in his home). He also had an uncle and an aunt living in Spain which he did not see very often. His wife requests moreover the compensation for moral damages to the profit of Kevin, a childhood friend of Christopher, witness at their wedding and godfather of his son, with whom he made his jogging regularly.

Definition of family members Article 258 of the new civil code – family (1) The family is based on marriage of the spouses, their full equality and the right and duty of parents to ensure the upbringing and education of their children. Article 259 of the new civil code – marriage (1)Marriage is the union of free consent between a man and a woman, done by law. (2)The man and woman have the right to marry in order to start a family. Article 405 of the new civil code - kinship (1)natural kinship ties are based on the descent of a person from another person or several people that have a common ancestor. (2)Civil Kinship is the relationship resulting from the adoption concluded as provided by law.

Who is entitled to compensations Article 1391 of the new civil code - Compensation for non- economic losses (1)In case of bodily harm or health, can be granted compensation for restricting opportunities for family and social life. (2)The court may also award damages to ascendants, descendants, brothers, sisters and husband, the sorely tried by the death of the victim and any other person who, in turn, could prove the existence of such an injury.

Who is entitled to compensations? Based on the above mentioned legal provisions, the moral loss can be presumed for the close/first grade relatives and husband/wife of the deceased person. Any other person should prove the existence of such a loss for moral suffering. In the vast majority of cases, the Courts award compensations only to first grade relatives. Only in special cases when other relatives prove a close relation with the victim, compensations may be awarded by assimilation with first grade relatives.

Compensations - loss of parents` income for the children 1/3 of the net income of the deceased parent (according to art. 529 Civil Code) from which there will be deducted the payments form the social security pension for underage children – payable until the age of 18 but no more than 26 if the children attend any form of study as college, university etc; - all funeral expenses (according to invoices) and also the transport and accommodation costs for the brother attending the funeral; Material damages Compensations are individually assessed.

Material damage Funerals – Euro (only 1/6 of grave costs + full ceremony costs) 210 Euro (brother`s accommodation) Loss of income for the children Aprox Euro / year for each at least until the age of 18 or until the age of 26 if during their education. Compensations

Moral loss Wife – Euro; Children – Euro for each; Christopher's parents – Euro for each Christopher's brother and sister – Euro for each Grandmother, uncle and aunt – NO (in very rare cases) Christopher's friend – NO (extremely rare cases) Compensations

Total comp. For material loss – Euro (payable over 15 years) For moral loss – Euro Grand total: ≈ Euro Compensations

Reference / scales for moral damages Art. 49 of ISC Order no. 14/2011 provides only that moral damages will be awarded– “… according to national legal provisions and jurisprudence”. The National legislation does not provide any objective criteria for moral damages so we are left with the jurisprudence. Balance The Guarantee Fund needs to have a balanced position between the interests of the claimants/ victims and those of the responsible/liable person. Since 2007 we`ve started to collect Court decisions in order to try to find some objective criteria for moral damages assessment. Legal provisions

Reference / scales for moral damages We have discovered an independent source for the jurisprudence. This is the site Jurindex at he following internet address Jurindex is a free service which aims to provide free access to judicial decisions by the courts. Jurindex is a Project developed/managed by the Court of Vrancea developed under the auspices of the Superior Council of Magistracy from Romania.

Reference / scales for moral damages The site of Jurindex contains all the decisions of the Courts of Appeal issued between 2008 and February 28, There are a total of 233,921 documents published. The latest data contained by the Jurindex portal ( was collected. No other sources were accepted from any interested parties to avoid any criticism regarding our objectivity / the objectivity of the Guide.

Reference / scales for moral damages 2339 Court of Appeal decisions pronounced in 2009 and 2010 were studied; There were statistically processed decisions for unlawful acts produced starting with the year of occurrence 2006; In case of decease there were centralized 715 cases; For bodily injuries there were centralized 621 cases;

Reference / scales for moral damages Results of the Guide Medium amounts awarded by the Courts of Appeal For wife / widow Euro For each underage child Euro For each overage child Euro For each parent Euro For each brother/sister Euro

Thank you for your kind attention. Luxembourg 14 th Conference - Traffic law days - Sorin Greceanu 09 th Oct. 2013