Limit of liability applicable on the date of the event in the compulsory civil liability insurance contract for motor vehicle owners as a criterion for indexation based on the rebus sic stantibus clause – commentary to the thesis of resolution taken by the seven judges of the Supreme Court of 15 January 2025, III CZP 17/24

Abstract

The subject of the gloss is the thesis of the resolution of a bench of 7 judges of the Supreme Court of 15 January 2025, issued as a result of the referral pursuant to Article 39817 § 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure by the Supreme Court’s decision of 20 November 2024 (reference number II CSKP 1372/22) of the following legal issue - whether in the case of indexation, pursuant to Article 3571 § 1 of the Civil Code, of the limit of liability specified in the compulsory civil liability insurance contract for motor vehicle owners, resulting from provisions no longer in force providing for a lower amount than the provisions in force at the time of the ruling, the indexation criterion is the current amount of the sum guaranteed for compulsory civil liability insurance contracts for motor vehicle owners, specified in the provisions in force at the time of the ruling. This resolution touches on the issue of adopting the criteria of an extraordinary change of circumstances for the application of the rebus sic stantibus clause. The issue in question is of significant importance for insurance practice, as there are increasingly frequent cases of drivers of motor vehicles causing damage exceeding the statutory minimum limit of liability, which (in theory) constitute the upper limit of the insurer’s liability. The inconsistent insurance practice has often led to the refusal to apply the rebus sic stantibus clause in relation to increasing the guarantee amounts, which in turn has given rise to disputes between the injured party and the insured party and the insurance company. The commentary will refer exclusively to the thesis of the resolution, as the justification of the judgment has not yet been submitted for publication. Nevertheless, due to the fact that the resolution under discussion touches on such an important issue from the point of view of protecting injured parties, in the author’s opinion it is necessary at this stage to publish selected considerations that are of potential interest, and perhaps even future argumentation of the Supreme Court.