Grounds of Jurisdiction in Matters of Liability Insurance

The asymmetry of the regulation of Articles 10 to 16 of Regulation 1215/2012, consisting of the possibility for the weaker party to avail itself of the multiple grounds of jurisdiction alternatively established for it, is a core element of the protective regulation of insurance jurisdiction. In addition to the multiplicity of jurisdictional grounds and the free choice between them by the weaker party, the core of the privilege of the policyholder and insurance beneficiaries is the possibility to use the forum actoris privilege when bringing actions against the insurer. The insurer does not have a similar privilege and can, in principle, sue its opponent in an insurance case, only—according to the principle actor sequitur forum rei—before the courts of the Member State in which the defendant is domiciled. The asymmetry in the regulation and the disproportion in the number of available grounds of jurisdiction are intended to at least partially offset the effects of the adhesion nature of insurance contracts and the disproportion in economic power and legal knowledge between the insurer and its adversary—the weaker party in the insurance relationship.