Law / France

Code civil, articles 1245 to 1245-17, liability for defective products

Code civil, articles 1245 à 1245-17

In force since 21 May 1998.

A product liability rule binding private bodies.

Private right of action: Yes
Instrument type: an act of a legislature

As of 14 October 2026.

What it requires

The chapter defines a product as any movable and treats electricity as one, and it does not name software; whether software supplied on its own counts as a movable is unsettled, so do not assume it is inside or outside the regime (Art. 1245-2).
If you make a finished product, a raw material or a component part, put your name, brand or another distinctive mark on a product, or import a product into the European Community for sale, rental or other distribution, and you act professionally, you answer as its producer for the damage a defect in it causes, whether or not you have a contract with the victim (Arts. 1245, 1245-5).
If you only sell, rent or otherwise supply a product as a professional and the producer cannot be identified, you answer as the producer unless you name your own supplier or the producer within three months of the victim's request; a finance lessor is not caught (Art. 1245-6).
If a defective component of yours is built into another product, you and the person who built it in are jointly liable; as a component maker you are not liable if you show the defect comes from the design of the product it was built into or from its producer's instructions (Arts. 1245-7, 1245-10).
Judge each release against the safety people are legitimately entitled to expect: a product is defective if it falls short, on all the circumstances, including its presentation, its reasonably expected use and the time it was put into circulation (Art. 1245-3).
Do not count on compliance with good practice, existing standards or an administrative authorization to avoid liability, since none rules out a defect (Art. 1245-9); only a defect due to compliance with mandatory legislative or regulatory rules is a defense (Art. 1245-10, 5°).
Keep the evidence to show, if sued, that you did not put the product into circulation, that the defect did not exist when you did or arose afterwards, that the product was not meant for sale or distribution, or that the state of scientific and technical knowledge when you put it into circulation did not allow the defect to be detected; the last defense is closed for damage caused by an element of the human body or its products (Arts. 1245-10, 1245-11).
The injured person must prove the damage, the defect and the causal link between them, so keep design and testing records that let you answer that proof (Art. 1245-8).
Do not rely on a contract term to exclude or limit this liability: such a clause is prohibited and deemed unwritten, except between professionals for damage to property the victim does not use mainly for private use or consumption (Art. 1245-14).
Plan for claims for personal injury and for damage to other property above 500 euros, but not for damage to the defective product itself (Art. 1245-1; Décret n° 2005-113, Art. 1).
Plan for liability to last ten years after you put the product into circulation, longer where you were at fault or where the victim has already sued, and for claims to run three years from when the claimant knew or should have known of the damage, the defect and the producer's identity (Arts. 1245-15, 1245-16).
Do not treat this chapter as the whole of your exposure: the victim keeps any right under contract law, tort law or a special liability regime, and you remain liable for your own fault (Art. 1245-17).
Watch for amendment of this chapter: the Ministry of Justice has said it must be modified to transpose Directive (EU) 2024/2853, which applies to products placed on the market after 9 December 2026.

These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of 14 October 2026.

Who enforces it

Settledness

As of: 14 October 2026
Open questions: Is software supplied on its own, outside any physical medium, a movable (bien meuble) and so a product under Article 1245-2 of the Code civil?

What this law does

Drafted with AI

Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page. How this site is made

Research summary

Legal information, not legal advice. This is LexLint's own research summary of a public legal source, and it creates no attorney-client relationship. For decisions that matter, consult qualified counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. About LexLint

Articles 1245 to 1245-17 of the Code civil make the producer liable for damage caused by a defect in its product, whether or not it is bound to the victim by a contract. The chapter was inserted into the Code civil by Loi n° 98-389 du 19 mai 1998, as a title IV bis of book III. That law was passed to transpose Directive 85/374/EEC. It applies to products put into circulation after that law's entry into force, even if they were the object of an earlier contract.

Ordonnance n° 2016-131 du 10 février 2016 created articles 1245-1 to 1245-17 of the Code civil. It repealed articles 1386-1 to 1386-18, the numbers under which the title had been codified. Article 1245-2 defines a product as any movable asset (bien meuble), including one incorporated in an immovable, and treats electricity as a product.

A product is defective when it does not offer the safety that one is legitimately entitled to expect, taking into account all the circumstances, in particular its presentation, its reasonably expected use and the time it was put into circulation.

The producer is the professional manufacturer of a finished product, the producer of a raw material or the manufacturer of a component part, and a person acting professionally who presents itself as the producer or who imports a product into the European Community is treated as one. A seller, lessor or other professional supplier is liable as the producer is where the producer cannot be identified, unless it names its own supplier or the producer within three months of the victim's request.

The producer of a component part and the person who incorporated it are jointly liable for damage caused by the defect of a product incorporated in another. The claimant must prove the damage, the defect and the causal link between them. The producer is liable as of right unless it proves one of five grounds, among them that the state of scientific and technical knowledge when it put the product into circulation did not allow the defect to be detected.

Article 1245-11 removes the scientific-knowledge defense where the damage was caused by an element of the human body or by its products. Clauses that exclude or limit this liability are prohibited and deemed unwritten, but clauses agreed between professionals are valid for damage to property that the victim does not use mainly for private use or consumption.

The chapter covers damage resulting from an injury to the person, and damage to property other than the defective product itself above an amount set by decree. The decree sets that amount at 500 euros. Liability is extinguished ten years after the product was put into circulation, unless the producer was at fault or the victim sued within that period.

An action for compensation prescribes three years from the day the claimant knew or should have known of the damage, the defect and the identity of the producer. The chapter does not remove the rights a victim holds under contractual or non-contractual liability or under a special liability regime.

When LexLint raises it

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