The Legal and Institutional Framework for Compulsory Third Party Motor Vehicle Insurance in Ethiopia
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2009-03
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Financial responsibility laws in general and compulsory motor vehicle
insurance in particular have basically one major objective--to make
motorists financially capable of meeting accident liabilities and hence to
guarantee compensation to the accident victim. Unlike other countries,
Ethiopia recently promulgated Vehicle Insurance against Third Party
Risks, procl.559/2008 in J anuary 2008, a compulsory insurance scheme
with the same objective.
The legal regime of this law includes the requirement of the law,
indicating its obligatory nature, its scope of a pplication including any
person even pedestrians except the in sured person, member of his
family, the driver or any person employed on the vehicle , and insurance
policies. Besides, the duties of the insurer and the insured, the provision
of emergency medical care and the recognition of the yellow card system
of the COMESA and SADC are basic substantive characteristics of the
law.
Turing to its institutional framework, the law makes motor vehicle
insurance against third party ri sks involunta ry . Apy vehicle except those
exempted, are expected to display stickers on their wind screens the
failure of which entails a civil and criminal lia bility on the driver/owner.
The police shall deta in the vehicle until insurance certificate is
presented.
An insurance fund for faults committed by uninsured and untraced
vehicle is establis hed. Institutions which are believed to effectively
enforce the law are indicated in the law even though, to the dismay of
many, to this date enforcement of the law is not begun.
This new law in its application would ce rtainly have its own positive
a nd/ or negative effects on insure rs, acciden t prevention and owners of
mOLOr vehicles. With less cost in rela tively s peedy procedures, victims of
car accidents
implemented.
will get compensation at the time when the law is
Description
Keywords
Legal and Institutional Framework