Abstract

PROVISIONS PROHIBITING A PARTY TO A CIVIL LIABILITY INSURANCE CONTRACT FROM PERFORMING DECLARATORY ACTS IN THE LEGISISLATIONS OF THE MEMBER STATES

Summary

At the m om ent of the insurance occurence a stage o f cooperation, in a broad sense, comes into existence between the parties of a civil liability insurance contract. Its aim is not only a defense against a debt but also against fixing it at an excessive level.

An insurance agency, which is actually threatened with an obligation to pay damages, imposes additional duties on the other party. The main duties are the following: a ban on fulfilling the injured party’s claims on his own, concluding a settlement or adm itting the claims. The aim of these bans is protection against overhasty decisions and statements of the insured person as well as against the unfairness o f an entity being in collusion with the injured party which may deliberately mislead the insurer in order to get excessive damages. In some instances the insured party may be led by compassion or regret or act under the influence o f strong emotions justified by the circumstances of the accident. Independently of the intentions of the insured, an insurance agency’s liability has an accessorial nature; it is responsible w ithin the same scope as the insured.

The topic of this article are the provisions prohibiting the insured from declaratory actions w ithout a prior consent o f the isnsurance agency. Although they are on principle applied in all European law systems, they are not uniform. My analysis regards the solutions of French and German law as well as in the com m on law system; Polish accession to European U nion makes it necssary not only to prom ote our own practice but also to familiarise with the experience of foreign legislations.