Summary
This case concerns a car accident, which took place in Austria on 17 July 2006. The court of first instance stated that according to Article 4 par. 1 of the Rome II Regulation, the law applicable to a non-contractual obligation arising out of a delict shall be the law of the country in which the damage occurs. This applies irrespective of the country in which the event giving rise to the damage occurred. Consequently, it stated that Polish law shall be applied, because the damage is closely linked with the plaintiff, who is a Polish citizen living and feeling the effects of the accident, in Poland.
The defendant appealed against the judgement of the court of first instance, arguing that Austrian law should have been applied. The court of second instance, however, focused on another issue; It found that the provision of the Rome II Regulation should not have been applied because of the date of the accident. The court found that the Regulation had entered into force (according to Art. 31 of the Rome II Regulation and Art. 297 of the TFEU) on 20 September 2007 - on the twentieth day following that of their publication. It should be noted, however, that under Art. 32 of the Rome II Regulation, it shall apply from 11 January 2009. The appellate court cited the judgement of the CJEU in Homawoo v. GMF Assistance SA, according to which Articles 31 and 32 of the Rome II Regulation, read in conjunction with Article 297 TFEU, must be interpreted as requiring a national court to apply the Regulation, only to events giving rise to damage occurring after 11 January 2009 and that the date on which the proceedings seeking compensation for damage were brought or the date on which the applicable law was determined by the court seised, have no bearing on determining the scope ratione temporis of the Regulation.