The Directive (EU) 2024/2853, also known as the EU Product Liability Directive (PLD), represents a significant expansion of the existing EU product liability framework regulated by Directive 85/374/EEC, which was introduced in 1985. The goal of the Directive is to modernize product liability regulation in the context of the advancement of technology as well as digitalization.
Primarily, the directive expands the definition of a „product“, which has been expanded to include:
– all movables
– electricity
– digital manufacturing files
– raw materials, and
– software
Furthermore, the directive allows for any natural person who has incurred damage caused by a defective product to file a claim for compensation before a national court.
The damage that invokes the applicability of the rules set by the directive includes:
– death or personal injury;
– damage to or the destruction of property, as well as;
– the corruption or destruction of data not used for professional purposes
Finally, the person who has incurred damage can claim compensation primarily from the manufacturer of the defective product or the defective component. However, it should is particularly noteworthy that under the PLD, in the case that the manufacturer of the product is not based in the EU, the importer, the authorized representative or the fulfilment service provider can also be held liable, meaning the victim could claim compensation from these persons which were established in the EU.
Member States must transpose the Directive into national law by 9 December 2026. The new rules will apply to products placed on the market from that date onward, while Directive 85/374/EEC will remain applicable to products placed on the market before the transposition deadline.
Prepared by,
Daniel Vujacic, LL.M. (UW)