The Convention aims to establish a system of compulsory insurance in respect of civil liability, guaranteeing compensation for victims of damage caused by motor vehicles. Each Party undertakes to introduce in its municipal law a system of compulsory insurance which should comply with the provisions annexed to this Convention (Annex I). The system should determine the persons who shall be responsible for having the motor vehicle insured and provide all appropriate measures, accompanied where necessary by penal or administrative sanctions, to enforce the obligations resulting from the annexed provisions.

Moreover, the Convention specifies the principles governing exemptions from normal insurance, compensation for injury caused by a motor vehicle (involving both compulsory motor insurance and social security schemes), international insurance certificates, guarantees of payment, the establishment of a guarantee fund or conclusion of equivalent arrangements in order to compensate injured parties, and the possibility of bringing the claim in any other Party on equal terms with the nationals of that State.