A national rule under which the court fixes compensation for non-material damage suffered by the close family members of a person killed in a road traffic accident on the basis of fairness cannot be treated as an 'overriding mandatory provision' under Article 16 of Regulation No 864/2007. It can be treated that way only if, where the situation has sufficiently close links with the forum Member State, the court seised finds - after a detailed analysis of the rule's wording, scheme, objectives and context - that compliance with the rule is regarded as crucial in that Member State's legal order because it safeguards an essential public interest that cannot be achieved by applying the law designated by Article 4 of that regulation.

A national rule setting a three-year limitation period for actions seeking compensation for damage caused by an accident is not an overriding mandatory provision under Article 16 unless the court hearing the case finds, after a detailed analysis of that rule's wording, general scheme, objectives and adoption context, that it is so important in the national legal order as to justify departing from the law designated under Article 4 of Regulation No 864/2007.