Compensation of the Joola shipwreck victims

Joola shipwreck in video

Source: The Raven's Eye/Youtube

Joola shipwreck: compensation of the victims’ families

On the day following the disaster, the Senegalese government readily admitted its responsibility without reservation. But with the impossibility of applying international agreements that could compensate the victims' legal beneficiaries, the interested parties were left with either choosing an amicable solution or going to court.

After many meetings, the government's Legal Agency finally announced on Monday, June 16, 2003, that 5 million FCFA would be paid to the legal beneficiaries of each deceased victim and 3 million FCFA to the victims who survived. The victims' Support Group, however, asked that not less than 20 million FCFA (35 350 USD) be paid to each victim without distinction.

The government's decision comes after Mr. Lamine Coulibaly's suggestion to refer to the code of the Inter-African Conference on Insurance Markets (CIMA). The solution proposed by Mr. Lamine Coulibaly distinguishes between compensation for moral prejudice and compensation for material damages.

Joola shipwreck: moral prejudice

1. in % of the annual minimum wage

   Compensation Husband/wife 150% Minor child 75% Child legally of age 50% Father/mother 50% Brother/sister 25%

   The Contractual repair taking as a reference the mode of compensation for the person's physical damage, taking into consideration its consequence on his private and professional activities. The all-inclusive compensation is based on the compensation method applied to physical damage, as regard to private and professional activities. The allowance is based on a percentage of the annual minimum wage and is paid to the victim's spouse and parents, in conformity with Article 266 of the CIMA code.
2. The second solution is inspired from the principle of the non- commercialization of mental pain translated by the payment of a symbolic Franc.

Joola shipwreck: material prejudice

The spouse and the minor children are sole beneficiaries of the compensation. Generally speaking, the compensation is paid in as capital or in regular annuities. In the case of the Joola, it could be calculated on an annuity basis, to be determined after agreement between the parties according to the actual annual income of the deceased, or, in the absence of the annual minimum wage, according to the age of the victim.

The board in charge of the compensation, aligned with the insurance companies concerned, could initiate settlement following a uniform scale taking into account the abovementioned modules.