Owner, Driver and Insurer Liability
A single accident can involve several people who may be liable: the driver at the wheel, the owner in whose name the car is registered, the employer the driver works for, and the insurer. The injured person needs to know whom to claim from, and each of the others needs to know the limits of his own exposure. The office of Ali Barakat in al-Yarmouk, Baghdad, explains how liability is shared.
The insurer first
Article 14 of Compulsory Motor Insurance Law No. 52 of 1980 gives the injured person a direct right against the insurer, so there is no need to wait for the driver or owner to pay. That right covers death and bodily injury regardless of fault under article 2. See Compulsory motor insurance and traffic compensation.
Who the insured is
Article 3 defines the insured as the owner whose name is recorded in the traffic register or other official records, and anyone in whose name a car enters Iraq. This links to article 10 of Traffic Law No. 8 of 2019, under which a vehicle sale is concluded only on registration. Someone who sold a car on an outside contract and never completed the transfer stays on the register and may find himself drawn into an accident he had nothing to do with.
Recovery by the insurer
Article 8 lists cases where the insurer may recover what it paid and says from whom. For deliberate harm it recovers from the driver; for a stolen or seized car, from the thief or the person who seized it. For a driver unlicensed for that class or with a withdrawn licence, a driver who had lost a licensing condition, alcohol or drug impairment, use outside the registered purpose, excess passengers or load, or driving an unroadworthy vehicle, it recovers from the insured and the driver jointly. Article 7 lets the insurer hold back payment in these cases unless the injured person gives an acceptable guarantee, but requires it to bring the recovery action within sixty days of the compensation committee's decision becoming final, failing which payment is released.
Not against the injured person
Article 14 also bars raising the article 8 cases against the injured person. Whether the driver was unlicensed or drunk is a matter between the insurer on one side and the driver and owner on the other; it does not reduce the victim's right.
Employer liability
Article 219 of Civil Code No. 40 of 1951 makes the government, municipalities, public service bodies and anyone running an industrial or commercial enterprise liable for harm caused by their employees through wrongful acts in the course of service. The employer escapes if it proves it took due care or that the harm would have happened anyway. Article 220 lets it recover from the driver what it paid. For state vehicles see Heavy machinery and government vehicle accidents.
Who controls the car
Article 231 makes whoever controls mechanical equipment liable for the harm it causes unless sufficient precautions are shown. The practical question is whose hands the car was in at the time. The liable person may be a borrower or hirer rather than the registered owner, and the court looks at the facts.
Hit-and-run cars
If the car is never identified, article 9 of the insurance law still obliges the insurer to compensate death or bodily injury on its conditions, including police registration within seven days. If the car is identified later, the insurer recovers from its driver unless he proves he did not know of the accident.
Owner arrangements with the injured person
Article 6 bars the insured from offering or accepting any compensation arrangement without the insurer's written consent, and such an arrangement does not bind the insurer without it. An owner who pays the injured person directly may not get that money back.
Penalty for the owner
Article 33 of the Traffic Law punishes an owner or holder who lets an unlicensed person drive, and article 9 forbids it outright. An owner who hands the car to an unlicensed son faces both the penalty and insurance recovery.
Legal basis and sources
- Civil Code No. 40 of 1951 (Official Gazette No. 3015 of 8/9/1951) — Articles 219, 220 and 231
- Compulsory Insurance against Motor Vehicle Accidents Law No. 52 of 1980 (Official Gazette No. 2766 of 31/3/1980) — Articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 14
- Traffic Law No. 8 of 2019 (Official Gazette No. 4550 of 5/8/2019; correction notice in No. 4562 of 11/11/2019) — Articles 9, 10 and 33
Frequently asked questions
Should I claim from the insurer or the driver?
The injured person has a direct right against the insurer under article 14, and may claim from whoever is civilly responsible for anything beyond that.
I sold my car on an outside contract. Am I liable for the buyer's accident?
You remain the insured while the sale is unregistered, since article 10 of the Traffic Law concludes a sale only on registration.
Can the insurer refuse because the driver was unlicensed?
That cannot be raised against the injured person, but the insurer recovers from the insured and the driver jointly under article 8.
Related topics and articles
- 01Compulsory Motor Insurance and Traffic CompensationIraq Compulsory Motor Insurance Law No. 52 of 1980: automatic cover, no-fault compensation, driver injury, unidentified vehicles, notice period and limitation.
- 02Civil Compensation Claim for a Traffic AccidentClaiming compensation for a road accident under the Iraqi Civil Code: material and non-material harm, dependants, the injured party's own fault, multiple wrongdoers, claiming before the criminal court, and limitation.
- 03Heavy Machinery and Government Vehicle AccidentsLiability for accidents involving heavy vehicles and state cars in Iraq: what counts as heavy, loads, government driving documents, state liability for its drivers, and compulsory insurance.
- 04Traffic Law: Offences and Vehicle ImpoundHow traffic fines work under Iraq Traffic Law No. 8 of 2019: the officer's authority, monitoring equipment, notice, doubling and reduction, impound, and licence withdrawal for repeat offences.
- 05After a Collision or Run-Over: The Record and Your RightsLegal steps after a collision or run-over in Iraq: getting the injured person to hospital, reporting, the accident scene sketch, complaint before the investigating judge, notifying the insurer and preserving evidence.