Motor Traffic
(Third-Party Insurance) (Jersey) Law 1948[1]
A LAW to make provision for the
protection of third parties against risks arising out of the use of motor vehicles
Commencement
[see endnotes]
1 Interpretation
(1) In this Law, unless the
context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings
respectively assigned to them, that is to say –
“authorized insurer” has the meaning assigned by Article 4(1);
“certificate of insurance” means a certificate of
insurance issued under Article 6(1);
“fleet registered keeper” has the meaning assigned by Article 6(6);
“hospital” has the meaning assigned by Article 3(3);
“Inspector” means the Inspector of Motor Traffic
appointed under Article 2 of the Motor Traffic (Jersey) Law
1935;
“insurance disc” means an insurance disc issued under Article 6(2);
“Minister” means the Minister for Infrastructure;[2]
“motor vehicle” means any mechanically propelled vehicle
intended or adapted for use on a road;
“policy of insurance” includes a covering note;
“prescribed” means prescribed by an Order made by the
Minister under this Law;
“owner” in relation to a motor vehicle which is the
subject of a hiring agreement or hire purchase agreement, means the person in
possession of the motor vehicle under that agreement;
“road” means any public road, any other road to which
the public has access, any bridge over which a road passes, any public place
and any sea beach;
“Traffic Officer” means the Inspector, or the Deputy
Inspector of Motor Traffic or any Traffic Officer appointed under Article 2
of the Motor Traffic (Jersey) Law
1935.[3]
(2) In this Law, a
reference to –
(a) a
certificate of insurance; or
(b) an
insurance disc,
in any provision relating to its surrender, loss or destruction
shall, in relation to policies of insurance under which more than one
certificate of insurance or insurance disc is issued, be construed as a
reference to all certificates of insurance or insurance discs,
as the case may be, so issued, and where any copy of a certificate of
insurance or insurance disc has been issued as including a reference to that
copy.[4]
(3) In this Law, any
reference to an accident includes a reference to 2 or more causally related
accidents.[5]
2 Users of motor vehicles to be insured against third-party risks
(1) Subject to the
provisions of this Law, it shall not be lawful for any person to use, or to
cause or permit any other person to use, a motor vehicle on a road unless there
is in force in relation to the user of the vehicle by that person or that other
person, as the case may be, such a policy of insurance in respect of
third-party risks as complies with the requirements of this Law:
Provided that a person shall not be convicted of an offence under
this paragraph if the person proves that the vehicle did not belong to the person
and was not in his or her possession under a contract of hiring or of loan,
that the person was using the vehicle in the course of his or her employment
and that the person neither knew nor had reason to believe that there was not
in force in relation to the user of the vehicle such a policy of insurance as
aforesaid.[6]
(2) Any person who acts in
contravention of this Article shall be liable to a fine not exceeding level 3
on the standard scale or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 18
months, or both. [7]
(3) This Article shall not
apply to a motor vehicle owned and used by any Department of the Government of the United Kingdom, by a home force
as defined by Article 3(1) of the Armed Forces (Offences and
Jurisdiction) (Jersey) Law 2017, by the States or by any parochial authority, or
to any motor vehicle at any time when it is being driven for police purposes by
or under the direction of a Police or Traffic Officer or by a person employed
by a police authority.[8]
(4) This Article shall not
apply to a motor vehicle owned by a person –
(a) who
has deposited and keeps deposited with the Accountant-General of the Supreme
Court of England for and on behalf of such Supreme Court the sum specified in and in accordance with the
provisions of section 144(1) of the Road Traffic Act, 1988 of the United
Kingdom, as amended by any other Act of Parliament;
(b) who
has entered into an undertaking with the Minister to
the effect that any question or dispute arising out of the use in Jersey by
such person, or by other persons on the person’s order or with the person’s
permission, of any motor vehicle belonging to such person shall be within the
jurisdiction of the Royal Court of Jersey; and
(c) who
is represented in Jersey by one or more persons residing permanently in Jersey
duly appointed to be the person’s attorney or the person’s joint
and several attorneys, with full power and authority to accept service of all
and every form of legal process for and on behalf of such person in all
actions, suits and affairs instituted and to be instituted in all Courts of Law
in Jersey and before all Judges, Commissioners and Arbitrators in Jersey.[9]
(5) Where, after 1st
December 1972 a person uses a motor vehicle in circumstances such that
under paragraph (1) there is required to be in force in relation to his or
her use of it such a policy of insurance as is mentioned in paragraph (1),
then, if any other person is carried in or upon the vehicle while the user is
so using it, any antecedent agreement or understanding between them (whether
intended to be legally binding or not) shall be of no effect so far as it
purports or might be held –
(a) to
negative or restrict any such liability of the user in respect of persons
carried in or upon the vehicle as is required by Article 3 to be covered
by a policy of insurance; or
(b) to
impose any conditions with respect to the enforcement of any such liability of
the user,
and the fact that a person so carried has willingly accepted as his
or hers the risk of negligence on the part of the user shall not be treated as
negativing any such liability of the user.[10]
(6) For the purposes of paragraph (5),
references to a person being carried in or upon a vehicle include references to
a person entering or getting on to, or alighting from, the vehicle and the
reference to an antecedent agreement is to one made at any time before the
liability arose.[11]
3 Requirements
in respect of policies
(1) In order to comply with
the requirements of this Law, a policy of insurance must be a policy
which –
(a) is
issued by a person who is an authorized insurer within the meaning of this Law;
and
(b) insures
each person, persons or classes of persons as may be specified in the policy in
respect of any liability which may be incurred by the person or them in respect
of the death of or bodily injury to any person or damage to property caused by
or arising out of the use of the motor vehicle on a road:
Provided that such a
policy shall not be required to cover –
(i) liability
in respect of the death, arising out of and in the course of
the person’s employment, of a person in the employment of a person
insured by the policy, or of bodily injury sustained by such person, arising
out of and in the course of the person’s employment,
(ii) the
provision of insurance for more than £250,000 in respect of all such
liabilities as may be incurred in respect of damage to property caused by, or
arising out of, any one accident involving the vehicle,
(iii) liability
in respect of the damage to the vehicle,
(iv) liability
in respect of damage to goods carried for hire or reward in or on the vehicle
or in or on any trailer (whether or not coupled) drawn
by the vehicle,
(v) any liability of a person
in respect of damage to property in the person’s custody or under the person’s
control, or
(vi) any
contractual liability.[12]
(2) Where any payment is
made (whether or not with an admission of liability)
by –
(a) an
authorized insurer under or in consequence of a policy issued under this Law; or
(b) the
owner of a vehicle to which Article 2 does not apply by reason of such
owner having complied with the provisions of Article 2(4),
in respect of the death of or bodily injury to any person arising
out of the use of a motor vehicle on a road, and the person who has so died or
been bodily injured has to the knowledge of the authorized insurer or such
owner, as the case may be, received treatment at a hospital, whether as an
in-patient or as an out-patient, in respect of the injury so arising, there
shall also be paid by the authorized insurer or such owner to such hospital the
expenses described in paragraph (2A).[13]
(2A) Subject to paragraphs (2B) and
(2C), the expenses to be paid by the authorized insurer or owner to the
hospital are –
(a) the
expenses reasonably incurred by the hospital in treating the person for bodily
injury arising out of the use of the motor vehicle on the road; and
(b) the
expenses (if any) reasonably incurred by the hospital in transporting the
person, by ambulance, to the hospital for such treatment,
after deducting from such expenses any moneys actually
received by the hospital in payment of a specific charge for such
treatment, not being moneys received by the hospital under any contributory
scheme.[14]
(2B) The Minister for Health and Social
Services, after consultation with the Minister for Infrastructure, may by Order
prescribe limits on the amounts of expenses to be paid in respect of a person
who dies or is bodily injured, being –
(a) a
maximum amount of expenses for each day, or part of a day, that the person is
an in-patient;
(b) a
maximum amount of expenses for treatment of the person as an out-patient;
(c) a
maximum amount of expenses for transportation of the person, by ambulance, to a
hospital; and
(d) a
maximum amount for the aggregate of the expenses referred to in sub-paragraphs (a)
to (c).[15]
(2C) Until the Minister for Health and
Social Services first makes an Order under paragraph (2B) –
(a) the
maximum amount to be paid for each person treated as an in-patient shall be
£2,000.37; and
(b) the
maximum amount to be paid for each person treated as an out-patient shall be
£200.04.[16]
(3) For the purposes of this
Article, and of Articles 13 and 14, the expression “hospital”
means an institution whether owned or controlled by the States or otherwise
(not being an institution carried on for profit) which provides medical or
surgical treatment for in-patients and, for the purposes of this Article, the
expression “expenses reasonably incurred” means –
(a) in
relation to a person who receives treatment at a hospital as an in-patient, an
amount for each day on which such person is maintained in such hospital
representing the average daily cost for each in-patient of the maintenance of
the hospital and the staff and the maintenance and treatment of the
in-patients; and
(b) in
relation to a person who receives treatment at a hospital as an out-patient,
reasonable expenses actually incurred.[17]
(4) The States may by
Regulations –
(a) impose
a requirement for an authorized insurer or an owner described in paragraph (2)(b)
to notify the Minister for Health and Social Services of a claim for a payment
described in paragraph (2), and specify the information to be contained in
the notice and the time by which the notice must be given;
(b) specify
expenses or, in the case of the expenses of treating a person as an in-patient,
days, that are to be disregarded in determining an amount to be paid to a
hospital under paragraph (2);
(c) entitle
or require a person to apply, in such manner and within such period as may be
specified, to the Minister for Health and Social Services for a certificate of
the amount of expenses that the person is liable to pay to a hospital under
paragraph (2);
(d) provide
for a proportionate reduction in the amount of the expenses that an authorized
insurer or an owner described in paragraph (2)(b) is required to pay to a
hospital under that paragraph where the death or bodily injury of a person
arising out of the use of a motor vehicle on a road is attributable to the
negligence of more than one person;
(e) require
the Minister for Health and Social Services, on an application for a
certificate described in sub-paragraph (c), to issue a certificate
containing such information as is specified;
(f) establish
procedures for the recovery of expenses due to a hospital under paragraph (2),
including provision for a demand for payment issued in accordance with such
procedures to be enforceable as if it were an order of a court in Jersey;
(g) confer
a right, in specified circumstances, for an authorized insurer or an owner
described in paragraph (2)(b) to request a review of a certificate issued
by the Minister for Health and Social Services;
(h) require
the Minister for Health and Social Services to review a certificate upon a
request made pursuant to a right conferred under sub-paragraph (g);
(i) confer
a right for the Minister for Health and Social Services to review a certificate
on his or her own motion;
(j) empower
the Minister for Health and Social Services, on a review of a certificate, to
confirm, vary or revoke it;
(k) confer
a right of appeal to the Royal Court against a certificate on specified grounds
and specify the time within which an appeal must be brought;
(l) require
specified persons to provide such information to the Minister for Health and
Social Services as may be specified concerning the use of a motor vehicle on a
road that has given rise to the death of or bodily injury to a person; and
(m) empower the
Minister for Health and Social Services to appoint a person to discharge all or
any of the Minister’s functions under the Regulations and provide that,
where such a person is appointed, all or any of the references in the
Regulations to the Minister for Health and Social Services are to be construed
as a reference to the person so appointed.[18]
4 Approval of authorized insurers
(1) For the purposes of
this Law, the expression “authorized insurer” means an assurance
company or an underwriter for the time being approved by the Minister.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3),
the Minister shall not approve as an authorized insurer any assurance company
incorporated elsewhere than in Jersey or any underwriter unless –
(a) such
assurance company or such underwriter is one in whose case the requirements of
the law of the United Kingdom for the time being in force as regards the
carrying on in the United Kingdom of motor vehicle insurance business are
complied with; and
(b) such
assurance company or underwriter has entered into an
undertaking with the Minister to the effect that –
(i) every
policy of insurance (including a covering note) issued by the company or by the
underwriter, as the case may be, in accordance with the requirements of this Law,
shall be deemed to be based upon a contract made in Jersey under the law for
the time being in force in Jersey, and that any question or dispute arising out
of such contract or policy in respect of any happening in Jersey shall be within
the jurisdiction of the Royal Court of Jersey:
Provided that nothing in
this sub-paragraph contained shall prevent the reference to arbitration of any
such question or dispute, and
(ii) so
long as the company or the underwriter, as the case may be, shall be and remain
an authorized insurer for the purposes of this Law, the company or the
underwriter, as the case may be, shall duly appoint one or more persons
residing permanently in Jersey to be its, his or her attorney or joint and
several attorneys, with full power and authority to accept service of all and
every form of legal process for and on behalf of the company or of the
underwriters, as the case may be, in all actions, suits and affairs instituted
or to be instituted in all Courts of Law in Jersey and before all Judges,
Commissioners and Arbitrators in Jersey.[19]
(3) The Minister may by Order
prescribe in relation to any person or class of person circumstances in, or
conditions subject to, which the requirements of paragraph (2)(b) may be
varied or waived.[20]
5 Extent of liability of authorized insurers
Notwithstanding anything in any enactment, an authorized insurer
issuing a policy of insurance under this Law shall be liable to indemnify the
persons or classes of persons specified in the policy in respect of any
liability which the policy purports to cover in the case of those persons or
classes of persons, despite the fact that the person by whom the policy is effected has no insurable interest in such persons or
classes of persons.
6 Certificates of insurance and insurance discs to be delivered to
insured persons and display of insurance discs.[21]
(1) A policy of insurance
shall be of no effect for the purposes of this Law unless and until there is
issued by the authorized insurer and delivered by the insurer to the person by
whom the policy is effected a certificate of insurance
which shall refer to the policy of insurance and the period of cover provided
under the policy.
(2) In addition to the
certificate of insurance, there shall be issued and delivered by the authorized
insurer to the person by whom the policy of insurance is effected –
(a) except
where that person is a fleet registered keeper or the holder of a motor cycle rider policy, an insurance disc in respect of
each motor vehicle the use of which is covered by the policy;
(b) where
that person is a fleet registered keeper, that number of insurance discs which
corresponds with the number of motor vehicles the use of which at any one time
is covered by the policy;
(c) where
that person is the holder of a motor cycle rider
policy, an insurance disc,
and each insurance disc so issued shall refer to the policy of
insurance and the period of cover provided under the policy.
(3) A certificate of
insurance shall –
(a) be
in the prescribed form; and
(b) contain
such particulars of –
(i) any
conditions subject to which the policy is issued, and
(ii) any
other matters,
as may be prescribed, and different forms and different particulars
may be prescribed in relation to different cases or circumstances.
(4) Except as provided in paragraph (7),
at all times when a motor vehicle is being used or
kept on a road, there shall be displayed on the vehicle in the prescribed
manner an insurance disc which shall –
(a) be
in the prescribed form;
(b) bear
the prescribed particulars which shall refer to a policy of third-party risks
for the time being in force covering the use of the vehicle; and
(c) unless
the person by whom the insurance policy is effected is
a fleet registered keeper or the holder of a motor cycle rider policy, bear the
registration mark of the vehicle.
(5) In respect of insurance
discs, different forms, different particulars and
different manners of display may be prescribed in relation to different cases
or circumstances.
(6) For the purposes of
this Law, the expression “fleet registered keeper” means a person
by whom a single policy of insurance in respect of third-party risks is effected in relation to the user of not fewer than a
prescribed number of motor vehicles which are –
(a) owned
by the person; and
(b) operated
for trade or business purposes,
and in this Article –
“motor cycle rider policy”
means a policy of insurance in respect of third party risks in relation to the
user of motor cycles or mopeds under which the cover relates to the policy
holder and not to a particular motor cycle or moped; and
“motor cycle” and “moped”
have the same meanings, respectively, as in the Road Traffic (Jersey)
Law 1956.
(7) Nothing in this Article
shall operate to require the display of an insurance disc on a motor
vehicle –
(a) to
which the provisions of Article 2(3) or (4) apply; or
(b) prescribed
as a vehicle on which an insurance disc is not required to be displayed.
7 Duty of insurers to satisfy judgments against persons insured in
respect of third-party risks
(1) This Article applies
where, after a certificate of insurance has been delivered under Article 6
to the person by whom a policy has been effected, a
judgment to which this paragraph applies is obtained.[22]
(2) Paragraph (1)
applies to judgments relating to a liability with respect to any matter,
liability with respect to which is required to be covered by a policy of
insurance under Article 3 if –
(a) it is
a liability covered by the terms of the policy to which the certificate
relates, and the judgment is obtained against any person who is insured by the
policy; or
(b) it is
a liability, other than an excluded liability, which would be so covered if the
policy insured all persons and the judgment is
obtained against any person other than one who is insured by the policy.[23]
(3) In deciding for the
purposes of paragraph (2) whether a liability is or would be covered by
the terms of a policy, so much of the policy as purports to restrict the
insurance of the persons insured by the policy by reference to the holding by
the driver of the vehicle of a licence authorizing the driver to drive it shall
be treated as of no effect.[24]
(4) In paragraph (2)(b)
“excluded liability” means a liability in respect of the death of,
or bodily injury to, or damage to the property of any person who, at the time
of the use which gave rise to the liability, was allowing the person to be
carried in or upon the vehicle and knew or had reason to believe that the
vehicle had been stolen or unlawfully taken, not being a person who did not
know and had no reason to believe that the vehicle had been stolen or
unlawfully taken until after the commencement of the person’s journey and
could not reasonably have been expected to have alighted from the vehicle.[25]
(5) In paragraph (4)
the reference to a person being carried in or upon a vehicle includes a
reference to a person entering or getting on to, or alighting from, the
vehicle.[26]
(6) Notwithstanding that
the insurer may be entitled to avoid or cancel, or may have avoided or
cancelled, the policy, the insurer shall, subject to the provisions of this Article,
pay to the persons entitled to the benefit of the judgment –
(a) as
regards liability in respect of death or bodily injury, any sum payable under
the judgment in respect of the liability, together with any sum which, by
virtue of any enactment relating to interest on judgments is payable in respect
of interest on that sum;
(b) as
regards liability in respect of damage to property, any sum required to be paid
under paragraph (7); and
(c) any
amount payable in respect of costs.[27]
(7) This paragraph requires
the payment –
(a) where
the total of any amounts paid, payable or likely to be payable under the policy
in respect of damage to property caused by, or arising out of, the accident in
question does not exceed £250,000, of any sum
payable under the judgment in respect of the liability, together with any sum
which, by virtue of any enactment relating to interest on judgments is payable
in respect of interest on that sum;
(b) where
that total exceeds £250,000, of
either –
(i) such
proportion of any sum payable under the judgment in respect of the liability as
£250,000 bears to that total, together with the same proportion of any
sum which, by virtue of any such enactment, is payable in respect of interest
on that sum, or
(ii) the
difference between the total of any amounts already paid under the policy in
respect of such damage and £250,000, together with such proportion of any
sum which, by virtue of any such enactment, is payable in respect of interest
on any sum payable under the judgment in respect of the liability as the
difference bears to that sum,
whichever is less, unless not less than £250,000 has already
been paid under the policy in respect of such damage (in which case nothing is
payable).[28]
(8) No sum shall be payable
by an insurer under the foregoing provisions of this Article –
(a) in
respect of any judgment, unless before or within 7 days after the commencement
of the proceedings in which judgment was given, the insurer had notice of the
bringing of the proceedings;
(b) in
respect of any judgment, so long as execution thereon is stayed pending an
appeal; or
(c) in connection
with any liability, if before the happening of the event which was the cause of
the death or bodily injury or damage to property giving rise to the liability, the policy was cancelled by mutual
consent or by virtue of any provision contained therein, and
either –
(i) before
the happening of the said event the certificate was surrendered to the insurer,
or the person to whom the certificate was delivered made an affidavit to the
effect that the certificate had been lost or destroyed, and delivered such
affidavit to the insurer,
(ii) after
the happening of the said event, but before the expiration of a period of 14
days from the taking effect of the cancellation of the policy, the certificate
was surrendered to the insurer, or the person to whom the certificate was
delivered made in the foregoing manner such an affidavit, and delivered the
same to the insurer, or
(iii) either
before or after the happening of the said event, but within the said period of 14
days, the insurer has commenced proceedings under this Law in respect of the
failure to surrender the certificate.[29]
(9) No sum shall be payable
by an insurer under the foregoing provisions of this Article, if, in an action
commenced in the Royal Court, in or out of term, before, or within 3 months
after, the commencement of the proceedings in which the judgment was given, the
insurer has obtained a declaration that, apart from any provision contained in
the policy, the insurer is entitled to avoid it on the ground that it was
obtained by the non-disclosure of a material fact, or by a representation of
fact which was false in some material particular, or, if the insurer has
avoided the policy on that ground, that the insurer was entitled to do so apart
from any provision contained in it:
Provided that an insurer who has obtained such a declaration in an
action shall not thereby become entitled to the benefit of this paragraph as
respects any judgment obtained in proceedings commenced before the commencement
of that action, unless before or within 7 days after the commencement of that
action the insurer has given notice thereof to the person who is the plaintiff
in the said proceedings specifying the non-disclosure or false representation
on which the person proposes to rely, and any person to whom notice of such an
action is so given shall be entitled, if the insurer thinks fit, to be made a
party to the action.
(10) If the amount which an
insurer becomes liable under this Article to pay in respect of a liability of a
person insured by a policy of insurance exceeds the amount for which the
insurer would, apart from the provisions of this Article, be liable under the
policy in respect of that liability, the insurer shall be entitled to recover
the excess from that person.
(11) Where an insurer becomes
liable under this Article by virtue only of the operation of paragraph (3)
to pay an amount in respect of a liability of a person who is insured by a
policy the insurer shall be entitled to recover the amount from that person.[30]
(12) Where an insurer becomes
liable under this Article to pay an amount in respect of a liability of a person
who is not insured by a policy, the insurer shall be entitled to recover the
amount from that person or from any person who –
(a) is
insured by the policy by the terms of which the liability would be covered if
the policy insured all persons; and
(b) caused
or permitted the use of the vehicle which gave rise to the liability.[31]
(13) In this Article the
expression “material” means of such a nature as to influence the
judgment of a prudent insurer in determining whether the insurer will take the
risk, and, if so, at what premium and on what conditions, and the expression
“liability covered by the terms of the policy” means a liability
which is covered by the policy or which would be so covered but for the fact
that the insurer is entitled to avoid or cancel, or has avoided or cancelled,
the policy.
8 Bankruptcy of insured persons not to affect certain claims by third
parties
Where a certificate of insurance has been delivered under Article 6
to the person by whom a policy of insurance has been effected, the happening in
relation to any person insured by the policy of any of the events specified in Article 1(1)(a)
to (h) of the Third Parties (Rights against
Insurers) (Jersey) Law 1948, shall, notwithstanding anything in that Law,
not affect any such liability of that person as is required to be covered by a
policy of insurance under Article 3(1)(b) of this Law, but nothing in this
Article shall affect any rights against the insurer conferred by that Law on
the person to whom the liability was incurred.
9 Avoidance of restrictions on scope of policies covering
third-party risks
Where a certificate of insurance has been delivered under Article 6
to the person by whom a policy of insurance has been effected,
so much of the policy as purports to restrict the insurance of the persons
insured by reference to any of the following matters –
(a) the age or physical or
mental condition of persons driving the vehicle;
(b) the condition of the vehicle;
(c) the number of persons
that the vehicle carries;
(d) the weight or physical
characteristics of the goods that the vehicle carries;
(e) the time at which or
the areas within which the vehicle is used;
(f) the horse power or value of the vehicle;
(g) the carrying on the
vehicle of any particular apparatus;
(h) the carrying on the
vehicle of any particular means of identification
other than any means of identification required to be carried by or under any
enactment for the time being in force in Jersey,
shall, as respects such liabilities as are required to be covered by
a policy of insurance under Article 3(1)(b), be of no effect:
Provided that nothing in this Article shall require an insurer to
pay any sum in respect of the liability of any person otherwise than in or
towards the discharge of that liability, and any sum paid by an insurer in or
towards the discharge of any liability of any person which is covered by the
policy by virtue only of this Article shall be recoverable by the insurer from
that person.
10 Duty of persons against whom claims are made to give information
as to insurance
(1) Any person against whom
a claim is made in respect of any such liability as is required to be covered
by a policy of insurance under Article 3(1)(b) shall, on demand by or on
behalf of the person making the claim, state whether or not the person was
insured in respect of that liability by any policy of insurance having effect
for the purposes, or would have been so insured if the insurer had not avoided
or cancelled the policy, and, if the person was or would have been so insured,
give such particulars with respect to that policy as were specified in the
certificate of insurance delivered in respect thereof under Article 6.
(2) If, without reasonable
excuse, any person fails to comply with the provisions of this Article, or
wilfully makes any false statement in reply to any such demand as aforesaid, the
person shall be guilty of an offence.
11 Surrender of certificate and disc[32]
(1) Where a policy of insurance
has been effected and an insurance disc bearing the registration mark of a
motor vehicle has been delivered under Article 6 by the insurer to the person
by whom the policy was effected and that vehicle is subsequently transferred by
that person to another, that person shall, within 7 days after the transfer
takes effect, surrender to the insurer the insurance disc, and if the person
fails to do so or, where the disc has been lost or destroyed, to comply with
the provisions of paragraph (3), the person shall be guilty of an offence.
(2) Where a policy of
insurance has been effected and the policy is cancelled by mutual consent or by
virtue of any provision in the policy, the person by whom the policy was
effected shall, within 7 days after the cancellation takes effect, surrender to
the insurer the certificate of insurance and insurance disc delivered under Article 6
by the insurer to that person in respect of the policy, and if the person fails
to do so or, where the certificate or disc has been lost or destroyed, to
comply with the provisions of paragraph (3), the person shall be guilty of
an offence.
(3) Where a person is under
an obligation under paragraph (1) or (2) to surrender a certificate of
insurance or insurance disc and by reason of its loss or destruction the person
is unable to do so, the person shall make an affidavit deposing to its loss or
destruction and within a period of 10 days after the transfer or cancellation,
as the case may be, takes effect the person shall deliver the affidavit to the
insurer.
12 Certain conditions in policies to be of no effect
Any condition in a policy of insurance issued for the purposes of
this Law, providing that no liability shall arise under the policy or that any
liability so arising shall cease in the event of some specified thing being
done or omitted to be done after the happening of the event giving rise to a
claim under the policy, shall be of no effect in connection with such claims as
are mentioned in Article 3(1)(b):
Provided that nothing in this Article shall be taken to render void
any provision in a policy of insurance requiring the person insured to repay to
the insurer any sums which the latter may have become liable to pay under the
policy and which have been applied to the satisfaction of the claims of third parties.
13 Payments and insurance in respect of emergency treatment of
injuries arising from the use of motor vehicles on roads
(1) Where medical or
surgical treatment or examination is immediately required as a result of bodily
injury (including fatal injury) to any person caused by, or arising out of, the
use of a motor vehicle on a road, and the treatment or examination so required
(in this Article referred to as “emergency treatment”) is effected
by a medical practitioner authorized to practise in Jersey, the person who was
using the vehicle at the time of the event out of which the bodily injury arose
shall, on a claim being made in accordance with the provisions of Article 14,
pay to the practitioner, or, where emergency treatment is effected by more than
one practitioner, to the practitioner by whom it is first effected, such fee as
the Minister for Health and Social Services prescribes by Order.[33]
(2) Where emergency
treatment is first effected in a hospital, the
provisions of paragraph (1) with respect to the payment of a fee shall, so
far as applicable, have effect with the substitution of references to the
hospital for references to a medical practitioner.
(3) Liability incurred
under this Article by the person using a vehicle shall, where the event out of
which it arose was caused by the wrongful act of another person, be treated for
the purposes of any claim to recover damage by reason of that wrongful act as
damage sustained by the person using the vehicle.
(4) In Article 3(1)(b),
the reference to liability in respect of death or bodily injury shall be deemed
to include a reference to liability to make a payment under this Article in
respect of emergency treatment required as a result of
bodily injury, and the proviso to Article 3(1)(b) shall not have effect as
respects liability to make a payment under this Article.
14 Provisions as to claims for, and supplementary provisions as to,
payments for emergency treatment
(1) The Connétable
of a parish and the Inspector shall, if so requested by a person who alleges
that the person is entitled to claim a payment under Article 13, furnish
to that person any information at their disposal as to the identification marks
of any motor vehicle which that person alleges to be a vehicle out of the use
of which the bodily injury arose, and as to the identity and address of the person
who was using the vehicle at the time of the event out of which it arose.
(2) A claim for a payment
under Article 13 may be made at the time when the emergency treatment is effected, by oral request to the person who was using the
vehicle, and, if not so made, must be made by request in writing served on the person
within 7 days from the day on which the emergency treatment was effected.
(3) A request in writing
must be signed by the claimant or, in the case of a hospital, by an executive
officer thereof, must state the name and address of the claimant, the
circumstances in which the emergency treatment was effected,
and that it was first effected by the claimant or, in the case of a hospital,
in the hospital.
(4) A request in writing
may be served by delivering it to the person who was using the vehicle or by
sending it in a prepaid registered letter addressed to the person at the person’s
usual or last-known address.
(5) A sum payable under Article 13
shall be recoverable as if it were a simple contract debt due from the person
who was using the vehicle to the practitioner or the hospital.
(6) A payment made under Article 13
to a practitioner or hospital shall operate as a discharge, to the extent of
the amount paid, of any liability of the person who was using the vehicle, or
of any other person, to pay any sum in respect of the expenses or remuneration
of the practitioner or hospital of or for effecting the emergency treatment.
(7) A payment under Article 13
shall not be deemed to be a payment by an authorized insurer or owner for the
purposes of Article 3(2).
15 Requirements
as to production of certificate of insurance
(1) Any person driving a
motor vehicle on a road shall, on being so required by a Police or Traffic
Officer, give the driver’s name and address, and the name and address of
the owner of the vehicle, and produce the driver’s certificate, and, if the
driver fails to do so, the driver shall be guilty of an offence:
Provided that, if the driver of a motor vehicle, within 7 days after
the production of the driver’s certificate was so required, produces the
driver’s certificate in person to such Police or Traffic Officer at such
place as may be notified to the driver at the time its production was required,
the driver shall not be convicted of an offence under this paragraph by reason
only of failure to produce the driver’s certificate.
(2) If in any case where,
owing to the presence of a motor vehicle on a road, an accident occurs
involving personal injury to another person, the driver of the vehicle does not
at the time produce the driver’s certificate to a Police or Traffic
Officer, the driver shall, as soon as possible, and in any case within 7 days
of the occurrence of the accident, produce the driver’s certificate in person
to a Police Officer of the parish in which the accident occurred, and, if the
driver fails to do so, the driver shall be guilty of an offence.
(3) It shall be the duty of
the owner of a motor vehicle to give such information as the owner may be
required by a Police or Traffic Officer to give for the purposes of determining
whether the vehicle was or was not being driven in contravention of Article 2
on any occasion when the driver was required under this Article to produce the
driver’s certificate, and, if the owner fails to do so, the owner shall
be guilty of an offence.
(4) In this Article the
expression “produce the driver’s certificate” means produce
for examination the relevant certificate of insurance, or such other evidence
as may be prescribed, that the vehicle is not or was not being driven in
contravention of Article 2.
16 Requirements
as to display and production of insurance disc[34]
(1) A person who uses or
keeps on a road a motor vehicle on which an insurance disc required to be
displayed under Article 6 is not so displayed shall be guilty of an
offence.
(2) The owner of a motor
vehicle –
(a) which
is used or kept on a road; and
(b) on
which an insurance disc required to be displayed under Article 6 is not so
displayed,
shall be guilty of an offence:
Provided that the owner shall not be convicted of an offence under
this paragraph if the owner shall prove that at the relevant time the vehicle
was being used or kept without the owner’s consent by another person.
(3) Any person driving a
motor vehicle on a road shall, on being so required by a Police or Traffic
Officer, produce for examination the insurance disc displayed on the vehicle,
and, if the person fails to do so, the person shall be guilty of an offence.
17 Power to make Orders
(1) The Minister may make
Orders for prescribing anything which may be prescribed under this Law and
generally for the purpose of carrying this Law into effect, and, in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of
the foregoing provisions, may make Orders –
(a) as
to the forms to be used for the purposes of this Law;
(b) as
to applications for and the issue of certificates of insurance and any other
documents which may be prescribed, and as to the keeping of records of
documents and the furnishing of particulars thereof or the giving of
information with respect thereto to the Minister or the Connétable
of a parish;
(c) as
to the issue of copies of any such certificates or other documents which are
lost or destroyed;
(d) as
to the custody, production, cancellation and surrender of any such certificates
or other documents;
(e) as
to the form and manufacture of insurance discs, the particulars to be contained
on insurance discs, the issue, delivery, replacement and surrender of insurance
discs and the manner of display of insurance discs and as to motor vehicles on
which an insurance disc is not required to be displayed;
(f) for
providing that any provisions of this Law shall, in relation to motor vehicles
brought into Jersey by persons making only a temporary stay in Jersey, have
effect subject to such modifications and adaptations as may be prescribed.[35]
(2) [36]
18 Falsification and wrongful use of certificates or discs[37]
(1) If, with intent to
deceive, any person –
(a) makes,
in order that it may be used as genuine, or alters or uses or lends to or
allows to be used by any other person, a certificate of insurance or insurance
disc under this Law; or
(b) makes
or has in the person’s possession any document so closely resembling such
a certificate or disc as to be calculated to deceive,
the person shall be liable to a fine or to imprisonment for a term
not exceeding 2 years, or to both such fine and imprisonment.[38]
(2) If any person for the
purpose of obtaining the issue of a certificate of insurance or insurance disc
under this Law makes any false statement or withholds any material information,
the person shall be liable to a fine or to imprisonment, for a term not
exceeding 6 months, or to both such fine and imprisonment.[39]
(3) If any person issues a
certificate of insurance or insurance disc which is to the person’s
knowledge false in any material particular, the person shall be liable to a
fine or to imprisonment, for a term not exceeding 6 months, or to both such
fine and imprisonment.[40]
(4) In this Article the
expression “certificate of insurance” includes any document issued
under an Order made by the Minister in pursuance of his or her power under this
Law to prescribe evidence which may be produced in lieu of a certificate of
insurance.
19 Penalties
(1) If any person acts in
contravention of or fails to comply with any provision of Regulations made by
the States or an Order made by the Minister under this Law, contravention of or
failure to comply with which is not made an offence under any other provision of
this Law, the person shall for each offence be liable to a fine of level 2 on
the standard scale.[41]
(2) A person guilty of an
offence under this Law for which no special penalty is provided shall be liable
to a fine of level 2 on the standard scale and to imprisonment for a term of 3
months.[42]
20 Power
to inflict and levy fines summarily[43]
(1) Subject to the
provisions of this Article, where a person is charged with an offence under Article 16
and accepts the decision of the Centenier having
jurisdiction in the matter, then that Centenier may
inflict and levy summarily a fine of level 1 on the standard scale.[44]
(2) Where a fine is levied
by a Centenier in pursuance of the powers conferred
on the Centenier by this Article –
(a) the
Centenier shall give a receipt for it;
(b) the
Centenier shall as soon as practicable inform the Chief Officer of the
States of Jersey Police Force of the matter giving such details as the Chief
Officer may request; and
(c) one
half of the fine shall be awarded for the benefit of the parish in which the
offence was committed and shall be applied towards the cost of maintenance of
the by-roads of the parish and the other half shall be paid into the
consolidated fund.[45]
21 Application of fines[46]
With the exception of fines imposed in respect of offences under Article 18,
which fines shall be for the benefit of the Crown or inflicted and levied pursuant to Article 20, all fines imposed in respect of offences under this Law or any Regulations or Order made under this Law shall be
paid into the Annual Income of the States.
22 Citation
This Law may be cited as the Motor Traffic (Third-Party Insurance)
(Jersey) Law 1948.