In a judgment returned on Thursday 13 July (case C-133/16), the Court of Justice of the EU ruled that the statute of limitations for action to be taken by the purchaser of a faulty second-hand item is still two years, even if the guarantee period has been reduced to one year by the parties to the transaction on the basis of national law.
The European institution found in particular that the two-year period to run from handover of the item is an important element in consumer protection, which is itself guaranteed by the directive on the sales and guarantee of consumer goods (1999/44/EC). Moreover, even though the directive allows member states to reduce the guarantee period to one year from delivery of the item for second-hand goods, it does not permit them to reduce the limitation period.
This means that even if the parties to the contract limit the guarantee period to one year on the basis of national law, the statute of limitations for any action taken by the purchaser cannot be less than the minimum period of two years.
The Court was approached by a Belgian court, regarding a dispute between the purchaser of a second-hand car and a garage. The former sought damages for costs incurred as a result of the vehicle being detained for one year by the police, who suspected that the car was stolen. The mechanic, for his part, considered that the limitation period for the buyer had expired, the guarantee period having been set at one year by both parties. (Original version in French by Francesco Gariazzo)