Ο περί Ελαττωματικών Προϊόντων (Αστική Ευθύνη) Νόμος του 1995, Law 105(I)/1995 on Defective Products (Civil Liability), Strict Liability of Producers (Directive 85/374/EEC)

Law 105(I)/1995 creates strict liability of producers for damage caused by defective products. Article 2(1) of the Law defines a product as any movable good, including one contained in another product or built into immovable property. Article 2(1) of the Law treats electricity and liquefied gas as products as well. The Law lists amendments by Laws 94(I)/1999, 113(I)/2000 and 45(I)/2002. Article 2(1) of the Law defines damage as death, personal injury or the loss of or damage to property.

Article 2(1) of the Law counts property only if it is of a kind ordinarily intended for private use or consumption and mainly used that way by the person who suffers the loss. Article 2(1) of the Law defines the producer as a person who makes a product or a component, including raw material, or presents itself as the producer by putting its name or a trade mark on the product.

Article 4(1) of the Law treats a product as defective when it does not provide safety, taking account of all the circumstances in which it is possessed, used or consumed. Article 5 of the Law makes the producer liable for damage that the injured person proves was caused wholly or partly by a defective product. Article 6 of the Law makes a person who imports a product into the Republic in the course of its business to supply it to another liable as if it were the producer.

Article 6 of the Law also makes a supplier liable as if it were the producer if it fails to comply in writing, within a reasonable time, with a written request to identify the producer or its own supplier. Article 7 of the Law forbids limiting or excluding that liability by any contract term or notice. Article 7 of the Law allows the liability to be reduced or removed where the damage is caused both by a defective product and by the fault of the injured person.

Article 8 of the Law makes two or more persons liable for the same damage jointly and severally. Article 10 of the Law awards no compensation for damage done to the defective product itself. Article 10 of the Law awards no compensation for damage to property where the amount would not exceed 300 pounds. Article 11 of the Law bars a claim brought more than three years after the injured person learned or could reasonably have learned of the damage, the defect and the identity of the producer.

Article 11 of the Law extinguishes the right ten years after the defective product was put into circulation, with two exceptions. Article 11 of the Law lifts that ten-year bar where the producer or importer gave an express guarantee that the product could be used for a longer period. Article 11 of the Law also lifts that bar where the damage was caused within the ten years but could not reasonably be discovered until a later time.

Article 12 of the Law gives a defense where the person did not put the product into circulation. Article 12 of the Law gives a defense where the defect was wholly due to compliance with a requirement imposed by or under a statutory provision. Article 12 of the Law gives a defense where it is probable that the defect did not exist when the producer put the product into circulation or appeared later.

Article 12 of the Law gives a development-risk defense where the state of scientific and technical knowledge when the product was put into circulation did not allow the defect to be discovered. Article 13 of the Law decides questions of the calculation of damage and compensation, causation, contributory negligence and contribution between co-defendants as if the liability arose from the tort of negligence. The Law entered into force on 1 January 1997.

The consultation draft of the Law on Liability for Defective Products of 2026 would keep the liability under the Law of 1995 in force for defective products placed on the market or put into service before 9 December 2026.