In determining the applicable law to non-contractual liability arising from cross-border traffic accidents, the Rome II Regulation, Art.4.3, provides for an “escape clause” which permits application of the law of the country to which the tort/delict is manifestly more closely connected, displacing that indicated in paras 1 (lex loci damni) or 2 (law of the common habitual residence of the parties when the damage occurs). In the absence of interpretation of this provision by the European Court of Justice, the High Court judgment Marshall v Motor Insurers’ Bureau 1 is one of few discussing the escape clause in detail and provides a welcome clarification of the principles applicable to one of the central