In any action brought against the owner or person in charge of a motor vehicle, or against an insurance company under or for the purposes of this Part of this Act, in respect of an accident causing the death of or bodily injury to any person who (not being a passenger for hire) at the time of the accident in respect of which the claim has arisen was a passenger in the vehicle, any agreement or stipulation which excludes or modifies the liability of the owner or of any other person to pay damages in respect of accidents due to the negligence or wilful default of the owner, his servants, or agents or other person in charge of the vehicle shall be void, except to the extent that it excludes or modifies the liability of the owner or other person to pay damages in excess of the amount in respect of which he is entitled to be indemnified under section 82 of this Act.”

For the purposes of this Part of this Act, the term ‘uninsured motor vehicle’ means a motor vehicle in respect of which a contract of insurance under this Part of this Act is not in force and which at the time of the accident in respect of which a claim is made under section 90e or section 90f of this Act is used in circumstances under which the owner of the vehicle is required to insure under this Part of this Act against his liability to pay damages on account of the death of or bodily injury to any person in the event of the death or bodily injury being caused by or through or in connection with the use of that motor vehicle.

The State Insurance General Manager shall be the nominal defendant for the purposes of this Part of this Act (in this Part of the Act referred to as the nominal defendant), and shall be so described in any action brought against him under section 90e or section 90f of this Act.

The nominal defendant shall be deemed to be a tortfeasor for the purposes of section 17 of the Law Reform Act 1936.

There is hereby constituted for the purposes of this Part of this Act a committee to be known as the Nominal Defendant’s Advisory Committee. The Committee shall consist of—

The appointed members of the Committee shall be appointed by the Minister, by notice in the Gazette, and their appointment shall be made upon the nomination of the insurance companies (other than the State Insurance Office) undertaking insurance business in terms of this Part of this Act or a majority of such companies. If no such nomination is made within a time specified by the Minister by notice in writing to those companies, the Minister may appoint such persons as he thinks fit to be members of the Committee.

For the purposes of subsection (2) of this section, a nomination of any person for appointment as a member of the Committee made by any organisation of insurance companies shall be deemed to be a nomination by all the insurance companies that are members of the organisation.

The appointed members of the Committee shall hold office during the pleasure of the Minister.

Any vacancy in the office of an appointed member of the Committee shall be filled in the manner in which the vacating member was appointed.

The function of the Committee shall be to advise the nominal defendant in respect of claims against the nominal defendant, and the nominal defendant shall act upon the advice of the Committee.

The Committee shall determine its own procedure.

The nominal defendant shall not be liable, either personally or in his capacity as a corporation sole, to pay any amount payable in satisfaction of any claim made against and admitted by him or any judgment obtained against him or the amount of any costs and expenses incurred by him in relation to any such claim or to the proceedings in which the judgment was obtained, but every such amount shall be paid by the nominal defendant out of money provided by insurance companies pursuant to subsection (2) of this section.

Each of the insurance companies undertaking insurance business in terms of this Part of this Act at the date of the accident out of which the claim arose shall pay to the nominal defendant such proportion of the total amount payable in satisfaction of any such claim or judgment (including costs and expenses as aforesaid) as the amount payable to it under subsection (2) of section 88 of this Act for the months of July, August, and September of the year in which the accident giving rise to the claim or judgment occurred bears to the total amount payable to all those insurance companies under that subsection during the said three months. For the purposes of this subsection, the term ‘year’ means a period of twelve months commencing on the first day of July.

Any amounts (not being amounts to which subsection (1) of this section applies) from time to time necessary to meet any costs and expenses incurred or payable by the nominal defendant in or in connection with the exercise of his duties, powers, functions, and authorities shall be paid to him in like manner to the amounts payable to him under subsection (2) of this section.

Where the death of or bodily injury to any person is caused by or through or in connection with the use of a motor vehicle, and—

any person who could have obtained a judgment against the owner or driver of the motor vehicle in respect of that death or bodily injury may obtain against the nominal defendant the judgment which in the circumstances he could have obtained against the owner or driver of the motor vehicle.

No action may be brought against the nominal defendant under this section, unless, within forty-two days after the accident or, if he was unable to do so within that time by reason of injuries sustained in the accident, as soon as it was reasonably practicable for him to do so, the person seeking to obtain judgment has given to the nominal defendant or to the manager of any branch of the State Insurance Office notice in writing of his intention to make the claim accompanied by a statutory declaration setting forth—

Notwithstanding that notice has not been given to the nominal defendant in accordance with subsection (2) of this section, application may be made to the Court, after notice to the nominal defendant, for leave to bring an action against the nominal defendant under this section; and the Court may, if it thinks it just to do so, grant leave accordingly, subject to such conditions (if any) as it thinks fit to impose, where it considers that the failure to give the notice was occasioned by mistake of fact or mistake of any matter of law other than the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, or by any other reasonable cause, or that the nominal defendant was not materially prejudiced in his defence or otherwise by the failure to give the notice.

Where after the commencement of proceedings against the nominal defendant under this section the identity of the motor vehicle or, as the case may be, of the owner or driver of the motor vehicle is ascertained, the proceedings against the nominal defendant shall abate.

Subject to the provisions of section 82 of this Act, the liability of the nominal defendant under any such judgment shall be limited to seven thousand five hundred pounds, inclusive of all costs incidental to the judgment.

Where—

then, subject to the provisions of this section, the amount of any judgment obtained by any person against the owner or driver or other person in respect of the death or bodily injury shall be paid to that person by the nominal defendant.

Subject to the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, no such payment shall be made by the nominal defendant, unless—

If notice has not been given to the nominal defendant in accordance with subsection (2) of this section, or if the nominal defendant did not have a reasonable opportunity of exercising his powers in relation to the claim as aforesaid, then, subject to the provisions of subsection (4) of this section, the person making the claim shall be entitled to recover from the nominal defendant such amount (if any) as the Court, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, thinks just, not exceeding an amount equal to the amount (including costs) for which judgment was obtained by the claimant against the owner or driver of the motor vehicle or other person lawfully in the motor vehicle.

Subject to the provisions of section 82 of this Act, the liability of a nominal defendant as aforesaid in respect of any such judgment shall be limited to seven thousand five hundred pounds, inclusive of all costs incidental to the judgment.

On the happening of any accident affecting an uninsured motor vehicle and resulting in the death of or bodily injury to any person, it shall be the duty of the owner forthwith after the accident, or if the owner was not in charge of the motor vehicle at the time of the accident, forthwith after he first becomes aware of the accident, to give notice in writing to the nominal defendant or to the manager of any branch of the State Insurance Office of the fact of the accident, with particulars in writing as to the date, nature, and circumstances thereof, and thereafter to give all such other information and take all such steps as the nominal defendant or the manager of any branch of that Office may reasonably require in relation thereto, whether or not any claims have actually been made against the owner or any other person on account of the accident.

Notice in writing of every claim made or action brought against the owner, or to the knowledge of the owner made or brought against any other person, on account of any accident as aforesaid shall forthwith thereafter be given by the owner to the nominal defendant or to the manager of any branch of the State Insurance Office, with such particulars in writing as the nominal defendant or the manager of any branch of that Office may require.

Every person who without reasonable excuse fails to comply with the provisions of this section commits an offence, and is liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

Where—

the provisions of section 86 of this Act (except paragraph (d) of subsection (1)) shall apply as if the nominal defendant were the insurer under a contract of insurance under this Part of this Act indemnifying the owner of the motor vehicle against the claim.

Any amount properly paid by the nominal defendant in satisfaction of a claim made or judgment obtained against him and the amount of any costs and expenses properly incurred by him in relation to any such claim or to the proceedings in which the judgment was obtained (being a claim made or judgment obtained in respect of an accident affecting an uninsured motor vehicle) may be recovered by the nominal defendant as a debt from the person who, at the time of the accident out of which the claim arose or in respect of which the judgment was obtained, was the owner of the motor vehicle, or, where at the time of the accident some other person was driving the vehicle, from the owner and the driver jointly or from either of them severally:

“Provided that—

Any amount recovered by the nominal defendant under this section shall be paid by him to the insurance companies undertaking insurance business in terms of this Part of this Act in the same proportion as those companies contributed to the amount paid in satisfaction of the claim made or judgment obtained against him.”