At the end of their second inter-institutional meeting, on Thursday 14 December, negotiators from the Spanish Presidency and the European Parliament reached a provisional political agreement on the revision of the product liability directive proposed by the Commission in September 2022 (see EUROPE 13031/10).
“Long overdue”, in the words of Vlad-Marius Botoş (Renew Europe, Romanian), co-rapporteur for the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, this text updates the civil liability rules established in 1985 in the face of the challenges of the digital age and the circular economy, to lighten the burden of proof for consumers seeking compensation for damage suffered as a result of defective products.
This involves coping with the international sharing of production, particularly in the context of online purchasing, and the emergence of new technologies - including artificial intelligence. However, these new rules do not apply to free open-source software, which is excluded from any commercial activity, according to the European Parliament’s position.
Compensation. The agreement means that a company based in the EU can always be identified in order to assume responsibility for a defective product, even if it was not purchased on its territory. If this is not possible, MEPs defended the obligation for Member States to provide compensation through national compensation schemes.
In addition, the burden of proof has been simplified: in the event of undue hardship, a general court may presume that the product is defective. This mainly concerns situations involving a certain technical or scientific complexity, as well as certain products deemed likely to be defective.
Victims will also be able to ask the general court to compel companies to disclose “necessary and proportionate” evidence. On this point, the European Parliament also insisted that the competent authorities should be encouraged to provide additional support for compensation claims.
Recognition of psychological damage and data loss. In addition to physical damage, including death and bodily injury, recognition of psychological damage - also advocated by MEPs - has been established. Compensation will also be available following the destruction or corruption of data not used for business purposes. In the case of late symptoms, the text allows the liability period to be extended up to 25 years.
Pascal Arimont (EPP, Belgian), co-rapporteur of the Committee on Legal Affairs, said in a press release that the balance advocated by MEPs (see EUROPE 13268/10) between “the need to maintain an effective instrument for victims injured by defective products and legal certainty for economic operators” had been struck.
This text still has to be formally approved by the European Parliament and the EU Council. It will then be published in the Official Journal of the EU and will enter into force 20 days later. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)