Due to the increasing interaction between, and gradual merging of, tangible and purely digital goods the Product Liability Directive (PLD), which was adopted in 1985, is no longer suitable in protecting consumers and other victims of harm caused by unsafe products. Hence, the European Comission has launched an initiative to adapt the PLD to take account of developments linked to the move towards a circular and digital economy on liability for damage caused by new and refurbished products. In full acknowledgment of current plans by the European Commission, the European Law Institute produced a Draft of a Revised Product Liability Directive. The Draft aims at providing a comprehensive, coherent and consistent model that can serve as a point of reference both for the Commission and the following legeslative process at EU level.
Jean-Sébastien Borghetti (Co-Reporter of the ELI Project; Professor, Paris-Panthéon-Assas University), Bernhard A Koch (Co-Reporter of the ELI Project; Professor, University of Innsbruck) and Christiane Wendehorst (ELI Scientific Director; Chair of the ELI Project; Professor, University of Vienna) presented the most salient aspects of the ELI PLD Draft, including the scope of liability, the relationship with other EU legislation, the burden of proof and defences, at a webinar with representatives of the Commission, the European Parliament and Civil Society Orginastion, such as BEUC.
The Draft can be accessed here.