PREDMETNA OBLAST PRIMENE DIREKTIVE O ODGOVORNOSTI ZA PROIZVODE: SLUČAJ KRONE – VERLAG

Abstract

The Court of Justice of the EU in the judgment in the KRONE – Verlag case established that Article 2 of the Product Liability Directive, read in the light of Articles 1 and 6 thereof, must be interpreted as meaning that a copy of a printed newspaper that, concerning paramedical matters, gives inaccurate health advice relating to the use of a plant which, when followed, has proved injurious to the health of a reader of that newspaper, does not constitute a defective product within the meaning of those provisions. By avoiding as much as possible to rely on the distinction between material and immaterial aspects of products, while focusing on the distinction between services and products, it seems that the Court of Justice tried not to influence the public debate on the need to adapt the rules on civil liability to the new reality that is increasingly digital. This allows it to continue to develop its caselaw in a consistent manner, which is likely to withstand possible future legislative changes, without the need to already determine under what conditions digital content and especially software are subject to product liability.