European Justice Court: Victims of Al-Salam Boccaccio 98 shipwreck have right to compensation

CAIRO - 8 May 2020: Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of European Union (CJEU)

ruled

on Thursday that the victims of the 2006 sunken ferry MS al-Salam Boccaccio 98 have the right to file lawsuits against two Italian organizations, which had classified and certified that vessel, at Italian courts.

The court rejected an appeal filed by the two Italian companies [Rina SpA and Ente Registro Italiano Navale], saying that the relatives of the victims and the survivors of the sunken ship have the right to demand compensation from the companies.

In 2006, the ferry MS al-Salam Boccaccio 98, which was owned by Egyptian businessman Mamdouh Ismail and sailing under the flag of the Republic of Panama, sank in the Red Sea while it was en route from Saudi Arabia to Egypt. More than 1,000 passengers, the majority are Egyptian expatriates and pilgrims, were killed.

Relatives of the victims already sued the two Italian companies at Italian courts to get compensation, saying that the classification and certification operations were the cause of the sinking before an Italian court in Genoa. But the companies said that the court lacked the jurisdiction, relying on the principle of immunity from jurisdiction as the classification and certification operations were carried out upon delegation from the Republic of Panama.

However, after considering the civil and commercial matters of Article 1 of the Brussels I Regulation, the Court of Justice of the European Union rejected the companies’ appeal.