GreeceLaw 2251/1994 Article 6, Liability of the Producer for Defective Products (Directive 85/374/EEC)
Ν. 2251/1994 (ΦΕΚ Α΄ 191), άρθρο 6
In force.
A product liability rule binding public and private bodies.
- Private right of action
- Yes
- Instrument type
- an act of a legislature
As of .
What it requires
- Article 6 applies to a defective product, and its text does not say whether software supplied on its own is a product, so treat standalone software as an open question under Art. 6(2).
- If you manufacture a finished product, a raw material or a component, or put your name, trade mark or another distinguishing mark on a product, you answer for any damage a defect in it causes (Art. 6(1) and (2)).
- If you import a product for sale, leasing or another form of distribution in the course of your business, you answer as the producer (Art. 6(3)).
- If you supply a product and the producer is unknown, tell the consumer within a reasonable time who the producer is or who supplied the product to you, or you are treated as the producer (Art. 6(4)).
- Give the performance your product's specifications provide and the safety that can reasonably be expected, judged by all the circumstances, including its appearance, its expected use and when you put it into circulation (Art. 6(5)).
- Be ready to prove an Art. 6(8) defense: that you did not put the product into circulation, that the defect did not exist then, that you did not make it for distribution or distribute it in your professional activity, that the defect is due to mandatory rules of law, or that the state of scientific and technical knowledge then did not allow the defect to be discovered (Art. 6(8)).
- If you made only a component, be ready to prove that the defect is due to the design of the product it was incorporated into or to that product maker's instructions (Art. 6(9)).
- Do not rely on a contract term to limit or exclude your liability to the injured person, because such an agreement is void (Art. 6(12)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
Who enforces it
Settledness
- As of
- Open questions
- Is software supplied on its own a product (προϊόν) under Article 6 of Law 2251/1994, which extends the word to movable things incorporated as components and to natural forces such as electric current and heat, while Article 1a(5) defines a good (αγαθό) as a tangible movable thing?
What this law does
Article 1(4) applies the law to every supplier, natural or legal person, of the public and the private sector. Article 1a(5) defines a good as any tangible movable thing. Article 6(1) makes the producer liable for any damage caused by a defect in its product. Article 6(2) treats as the producer the maker of a finished product, of a raw material or of a component, and any person who presents itself as the producer by putting its name, trade mark or another distinguishing mark on the product.
Article 6(2) also treats as products movable things incorporated as components in other movable or immovable things. Article 6(2) also treats as products natural forces, in particular electric current and heat, as long as they are subject to control and confined to a defined space. Article 6(3) makes whoever imports a product for sale, leasing or another form of distribution in the course of its business liable as the producer.
Article 6(4) treats each supplier of the product as the producer where the producer is unknown, unless the supplier tells the consumer within a reasonable time who the producer is or who supplied the product to it. Article 6(4) applies the same rule to the supplier of an imported product where the importer is unknown, even if the producer is known.
Article 6(5) makes a product defective if it does not give the performance provided for by its specifications or the safety reasonably expected in view of all the special circumstances, in particular its external appearance, its expected use and the time it was put into circulation. Article 6(5) provides that a product is not defective only because a better one was put into circulation later. Article 6(6)(a) includes in the damage the damage caused by death or bodily injury.
Article 6(6)(b) includes in the damage harm to or destruction of property of the consumer other than the defective product itself, where the loss exceeds EUR 500 and the property was by its nature intended for, and in fact used by, the injured person for personal use or consumption. Article 6(7) provides for monetary satisfaction for moral harm or mental anguish in the case of a breach of the Article.
Article 6(8)(a) releases the producer on proof that it did not put the product into circulation. Article 6(8)(b) releases the producer on proof that the defect did not exist when the product was put into circulation. Article 6(8)(c) releases the producer on proof that it did not make the product for distribution and did not distribute it in the course of its professional activity.
Article 6(8)(d) releases the producer on proof that the defect is due to the product having been made in accordance with mandatory rules of law. Article 6(8)(e) releases the producer on proof that the state of scientific and technical knowledge when the product was put into circulation did not allow the defect to be discovered.
Article 6(9) also releases the maker of a component on proof that the defect is due to the design of the product into which the component was incorporated or to the instructions given by that product's maker. Article 6(10) makes two or more persons liable for the same damage liable in full toward the injured person, with a right of recourse between them in proportion to each one's part in causing the damage.
Article 6(11) provides that the producer's liability is not reduced where the damage is caused both by a defect and by an act or omission of a third party, unless the injured person or a person for whom it answers is at fault. Article 6(12) makes void any agreement that limits or excludes the producer's liability.
Article 6(13) makes claims against the producer for damage time-barred three years after the injured person learned or should have learned of the damage, the defect and the identity of the producer. Article 6(13) extinguishes the injured person's rights against the producer ten years after the specific product was put into circulation. Ministerial Decision 5338 codified Law 2251/1994 into a single text. The Decision was published in FEK B 40 of .
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app distributes a software product or ships a mobile app.