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HomeEvaluation of Council Directive 85/374/EEC on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning liability for defective products
Final report
Evaluation of Council Directive 85/374/EEC on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning liability for defective products
Final report
Publication metadata
The study assesses the overall functioning and performance of the Product Liability Directive and whether it is effective, efficient, coherent and relevant and has EU added value. Attention is paid to analysing whether the Product Liability Directive is fit for purpose, as regards new technological developments. In this context, the evaluation aims to examine how the liability regime established by the Product Liability Directive adequately addresses the damage caused by malfunctioning apps and non-embedded software and, more generally, damage caused by a malfunctioning component of an Internet of Things (IoT) environment or other connected objects. The evaluation also aims to: - Provide quantitative and qualitative data on the application of the Product Liability Directive in Member States, with detailed explanations regarding successful experiences or problems encountered by stakeholders; - Mention Member States where consumers have made greater use of the provisions laid down by the Product Liability Directive; - Provide an evidence-based assessment per Member State of whether and how national transpositions of the Product Liability Directive are applied to new technological developments, specifically analysing the following indicative aspects: Establish whether apps and non-embedded software, or components of the IoT or AI are considered, notably by national courts or doctrine, as "products" for the purpose of the Directive; Find out whether unintended autonomous behaviour of an advanced robot is considered, notably by national courts or doctrine, as a "defect" according to the criteria of the Directive; Establish how the strict liability for damages is distributed between the different participants in the IoT, in particular in the case of connected objects or sensors relying on each other and on external data that are not necessarily under the control of a single ‘producer’.
- Published:
- Corporate author(s): Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (European Commission) , EY , Technopolis , VVA
- Themes: Approximation of legislation , Industrial policy
- Subject: administrative procedure , approximation of laws , consumer protection , defective product , directive (EU) , EC conformity marking , EU Member State , liability , new technology , product quality , report , single market , technological change
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| ISSN | ISBN 978-92-79-85814-7 | DOI 10.2873/477640 | Catalogue number ET-01-18-507-EN-N |
- Released on EU Publications:
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