the Council Directive 1992/59/EEC of 29 June 1992 on general product safety
the Act No. 102/2001 Coll. on general product safety
the Act was published 22 February 2001 and entered into force 1 July 2001
the Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 December 2001 on general product safety
the Act No. 277/2003 Coll. amending the Act No. 102/2001 Coll. on general product safety
the Act was published on 6 August 2003 and will enter into force on the day of accession of the CzechRepublic into the European Union
the Council Directive 85/374/EEC of 25 July 1985 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning liability for defective products
the Act No. 59/1998 Coll. on Responsibility for Damage Due to Defect of a Product
Act was published on 5 March 1998 and entered into force 1 June 1998
the Directive 1999/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 1999 amending the Council Directive 85/374/EEC on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning liability for defective products
the Act No. 209/2000 Coll.amending the Act No. 59/1998 Coll. on Responsibility for Damage Due to Defect of a Product
Act was published on 21 June 2000 and entered into force 1 September 2000
Section 3 – The Product
For the purposes hereof, product shall mean any movable goods, which were produced, extracted or otherwise gained irrespective of the degree of its processing and which are intended for placing on the market. Parts and accessories to movable goods and fixtures and fittings to immovable goods shall also be considered to be product. For example, electricity shall also be considered to be product.
Section 2 - Definition of producer
For the purposes hereof, producer shall be deemed to mean:
a) the producer of the end product, raw material or part of the product as well as any party which indicates its name, trade mark or any distinguishing feature on the product,
b) any party which, within its business activities, imports the product for the purpose of resale, lease or any other use, without prejudice to the producer’s responsibility based on clause a) above,
c) any supplier of the product, provided that the producer cannot be identified as referred to in clauses a) and b) above, unless such a supplier is able within one month of the date on which damages were claimed to notify the damaged party of the identity of the producer as referred to in clause a) or the party from which the product was delivered to such a supplier; the same shall apply to imports, unless the party which imported the product is identified as referred to in clause b), although the producer as referred to in clause a) is known.
Section 5 -Exemption from Responsibility
(1) The producer shall be exempted from its responsibility if the producer is able to prove that:
a) the product was not placed on the market by the producer,
b) in the light of circumstances it can be rightly assumed that the defect of the product which cased the damage did not exist at the time that the product was launched, or occurred later, or
c) the product was not made by the producer for the purpose of sale or for any other form of use for business purposes, nor was the product made or distributed by the producer within the producer’s business activities, or
d) the defect arose in the product because of compliance with the provisions of legal regulations binding on the producer, or
e) the state of scientific and technical knowledge at the time at which the product was launched did not allow to identify the defect of the product.
(2) The producer of any constituent part of the product shall be exempted from its responsibility if such a producer is able to prove that the defect was caused by the construction of the product in which the constituent part was incorporated or that the defect was caused by the instructions for the use of the product.
Section 4 –The Defect of Product
(1) The product shall be deemed to be defected hereunder if in terms of the safety of its use the product fails to guarantee the properties as may rightly be expected to pertain to the product, particularly with reference to:
a) the presentation of the product, including the information provided, or
b) the purpose which the product is expected to serve, or
c) the time as at which the product was placed on the market1 .
(2) No product may be treated as defective for the sole reason that a better product was launched at a later date.
1. Section 2 Clause b of Act No. 22/1997 Coll. on the Technical Requirements for Products and on Amendments to Certain Other Acts.
Section 1 - Responsibility of the Producer for Defect of a Product
In the case of any damage to health, or death, or any damage to any goods other than the defective product, which other goods are primarily used for purposes other than business, the producer shall be held responsible for the damage so caused if the damaged party is able to prove the defect of the product, the damage so caused and the causal relation between the defect of the product and the damage. The producer may only be exempted from its responsibility hereunder in cases where the conditions referred to in Section 5 apply.
Section 6
The producer shall make compensations for the damage to the goods for which the producer is responsible but shall only do so in amounts in excess of CZK 5,000.
Section 6a
The producer shall make compensation for the damage to the goods for which the producer is responsible but shall only do so in amounts exceeding the amount to be calculated from EUR 500 at a foreign exchange rate published by the Czech National Bank as at the date on which the damage occurred or was identified.
Section 9 - Statutory Limitations
The right to claim damages hereunder shall lapse three years after the date on which the damaged party first learned, or in the light of circumstances can rightly be assumed to have learned, of the damage, the defect of the product and the identity of the producer.
Section 9a -Extinction of the Right to Claim Damages
The right to claim damages hereunder shall expire after a lapse of ten years from the date on which the producer placed on the market the defected product responsible for the damage. This shall not apply if the claim for damages was brought before a court.
the Act No. 40/1964 Coll. the Civil Code, as amended
CHAPTER II
Liability for damage
Division 1
General Liability
Section 420
(1) Any person is liable for any damage, which he caused by infringing legal duty.
(3) A person shall be exonerated from liability if he proves that he did not cause the damage.
the Act No. 513/1991 Coll. the Commercial Code, as amended
Section 373
Whosoever breaches an obligation under a binding relationship shall compensate the second party for the damage caused thereby, unless he can prove that the breach of obligation was caused by circumstances that exclude liability.
Section 757
Section 373 et seq. apply analogously to liability for damage caused by a breach of obligations stipulated under this Act.
Manner and Extent of Compensation
Section 442
(1) Compensation shall be paid only for actual damage and that which the person injured (harmed) has lost.
(2) Compensation for damage shall be provided in money, should the person harmed so request and if it is possible and reasonable, the damage shall be made good by restoring the thing to its previous condition.
Section 443
The determination of the amount of damage to a thing shall be based on its price at the time the damage occurred.
Section 444
In the event of harm to a person’s health, a lump sum shall be paid to the person harmed for pain and suffering and for the loss of work and other opportunities.
Section 449
(1) In the event of harm to a person’s health, reasonable expenses related to medical treatment shall also be compensated.
Section 448
(1) If an injury is fatal, compensation shall be paid in the form of a pecuniary annuity covering the cost of support for the survivors of the deceased citizen gave, or was obliged to give, support.
Section 449
(2) In the event of death, adequate expenses connected with the funeral shall also be compensated.
the Act No. 59/1998 Coll.on Responsibility for Damage Due to Defect of a Product, as amended
Section 7a: Shared Responsibility of Producers
(1) Should more than one producer are responsible for a damage such responsibility shall be joint and several.
(2) The damaged party may claim damages from any of such producers.
(3) The mutual settlement between the producers sharing responsibility on a solidarity basis shall be effected according to the extent of involvement of each of them.
Section 7: Involvement of a Third Party
(1) If damage occurs as a result of defect of a product and concurrently as a result of any act or omission of a third party the producer shall be held fully responsible for such damage.
(2) However, the producer may seek recovery from such a third party as a result of such a third party’s act or omission, which contributed to the rise of the damage.
the Act No. 40/1964 Coll. the Civil Code, as amended
Section 106 - Period of Limitation
(1) The right to compensation for damage becomes statue-barred two years after the day on which the injured party became aware of the damage and discovered who was responsible for it.
(2) The right to damages (compensation for damage) becomes statute-barred after three years at the latest, and if the harm was caused deliberately, then after ten years from the day on which the event resulting in the damage occurred; this rule does not apply to harm to ones ´s health.
the Act No. 59/1998 Coll.on Responsibility for Damage Due to Defect of a Product, as amended
Section 10
Applicability of the Civil Code
(1) Unless otherwise provided herein, provisions of the Civil Code shall apply.
(2) The damaged party may at its sole discretion exercise its right to claim damages either on the basis of the general provisions on liability for damages or on the basis hereof.
Section 11
Cases of Exclusion of the Applicability Hereof
This Act shall not apply to cases of compensation for damages caused by nuclear events which cases are regulated by international treaties binding on the CzechRepublic andwhich were officially announced[2]. This Act shall not apply where rights areexercised in respect of responsibility for damages due to defect in a product placed on the market before the entry into effect hereof.
Section 8
Rule against Prior Exclusion of Liability for Damages
The producer’s duty to make compensations for damage caused by a defect of its product, as based hereon, may not be excluded or limited beforehand by any one-sided statement or by any agreement. Any arrangement as may allow such a prior exclusion or limitation shall be deemed null and void.
1
[2] Statement No. 133/1994 on the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage and the Joint Protocol Concerning the Implementation of the Vienna Convention and Paris Convention