The Product Liability Directive''
85/374/EEC
is a directive of the

Council of the European Communities A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nation ...

(now the European Union) which created a regime of

strict liability In criminal and civil law, strict liability is a standard of liability under which a person is legally responsible for the consequences flowing from an activity even in the absence of fault or criminal intent on the part of the defendant. Und ...

for defective products applicable in all member states of the European Union, the other EEA members (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and the United Kingdom. Directive 1999/34/EC amended the 1985 directive.

Background

The Council adopted a resolution in 1975 for a preliminary programme on

consumer protection Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

and

information technology Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...

. Moves towards a strict liability regime in Europe began with the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

Convention on Products Liability in regard to Personal Injury and Death (the Strasbourg Convention) in 1977. The Pearson Commission in the UK noted that this work had started, and refrained from making their own recommendations. A second EU programme followed in 1981. The

preamble A preamble () is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent to the su ...

to the directive cites Art. 100 (subsequently renumbered to Art. 94, then to Art. 115) of the

Treaty of Rome The Treaty of Rome, or EEC Treaty (officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community), brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was signe ...

and the aim to achieve a

single market A single market, sometimes called common market or internal market, is a type of trade bloc in which most trade barriers have been removed (for goods) with some common policies on product regulation, and freedom of movement of the factors of pr ...

: The preamble then goes on:

Content

Articles 1 to 12 create a scheme of strict product liability for damage arising from defective products. This liability is in addition to any existing rights that consumers enjoy under domestic law (article 13). The directive does not extend to

nuclear accident A nuclear and radiation accident is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "an event that has led to significant consequences to people, the environment or the facility." Examples include radiation poisoning, lethal effect ...

s, as these are covered by existing

international convention International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of rules, norms, legal customs and standards that states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generally do, obey in their mutual relations. In in ...

s (article 14). The original directive did not extend to

game A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...

or primary

agricultural produce Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food ...

(article 2) but this exception was revoked by Directive 1999/34/EC following concerns over BSE.

Development risks defence

Article 15(1)(b) of the directive gives member states the option of adopting the development risks defence: , all EU member states other than

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

had taken advantage of it to some extent.

Implementation by state

Because EU directives do not have

direct effect In the law of the European Union, direct effect is the principle that Union law may, if appropriately framed, confer rights on individuals which not only the courts but also the public administration (on national, regional or local level) of m ...

, they only come into force on persons in member states when implemented in national

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...

. Article 19 demanded implementation within 3 years.

Review

Article 21 required the Commission to report to the council on the application of the directive every five years. In 2021, the European Commission conducted an Impact Assessment study on the possible revision of the Product Liability Directive.CSES (2021)

Notes

References

* * *European Commission (1999)
Green Paper - Liability for defective products
', COM(1999)396 final * * * * *

External links

Text of the original DirectiveText of the amending Directive 1999/34/EC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Product Liability Directive Safety Product liability 1985 in law 1985 in international relations 1985 in the European Economic Community Consumer protection law Food safety in the European Union