The member States of the Council of Europe, signatory hereto,
Considering that the aim of the Council of Europe is to achieve a greater unity between
its members;
Considering the development of case law in the majority of member States extending
liability of producers prompted by a desire to
protect consumers taking into account the
new production techniques and marketing and sales methods;
Desiring to ensure better protection of the public and, at the same time, to take
producers' legitimate interests into account;
Considering that priority should be given to compensation for personal injury and death;
Aware of the importance of introducing special rules on the liability of producers at
European level,
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
- Each Contracting State shall make its national law conform with the provisions of this
Convention not later than the date of entry
into force of the Convention in respect of
that State.
- Each Contracting State shall communicate to the Secretary General of the Council of
Europe, not later than the date of the entry
into force of the Convention in respect of
that State, any text adopted or a statement of the contents of the existing law which
it
relies on to implement the Convention.
Article 2
For the purpose of this Convention:
- the term "product" indicates all movables, natural or industrial, whether raw
or manufactured, even though incorporated
into another movable or into an immovable;
- the term "producer" indicates the manufacturers of finished products or of
component parts and the producers of natural
products;
- a product has a "defect" when it does not provide the safety which a person is
entitled to expect, having regard to
all the circumstances including the presentation of
the product;
- a product has been "put into circulation" when the producer has delivered it
to another person.
Article 3
- The producer shall be liable to pay compensation for death or personal injuries caused
by a defect in his product.
- Any person who has imported a product for putting it into circulation in the course of a
business and any person who has presented
a product as his product by causing his name,
trademark or other distinguishing feature to appear on the product, shall be deemed
to be
producers for the purpose of this Convention and shall be liable as such.
- When the product does not indicate the identity of any of the persons liable under
paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, each supplier
shall be deemed to be a producer for the
purpose of this Convention and liable as such, unless he discloses, within a reasonable
time, at the request of the claimant, the identity of the producer or of the person who
supplied him with the product. The
same shall apply, in the case of an imported product,
if this product does not indicate the identity of the importer referred
to in paragraph 2,
even if the name of the producer is indicated.
- In the case of damage caused by a defect in a product incorporated into another product,
the producer of the incorporated product
and the producer incorporating that product shall
be liable.
- Where several persons are liable under this Convention for the same damage, each shall
be liable in full (in solidum).
Article 4
- If the injured person or the person entitled to claim compensation has by his own fault
contributed to the damage, the compensation
may be reduced or disallowed having regard to
all the circumstances.
- The same shall apply if a person, for whom the injured person or the person entitled to
claim compensation is responsible under
national law, has contributed to the damage by his
fault.
Article 5
- A producer shall not be liable under this Convention if he proves:
- that the product has not been put into circulation by him; or
- that, having regard to the circumstances, it is probable that the defect which caused
the damage did not exist at the time when
the product was put into circulation by him or
that this defect came into being afterwards; or
- that the product was neither manufactured for sale, hire or any other form of
distribution for the economic purposes of the
producer nor manufactured or distributed in
the course of his business.
- The liability of a producer shall not be reduced when the damage is caused both by a
defect in the product and by the act or omission
of a third party.
Article 6
Proceedings for the recovery of the damages shall be subject to a limitation period of
three years from the day the claimant became
aware or should reasonably have been aware of
the damage, the defect and the identity of the producer.
Article 7
The right to compensation under this Convention against a producer shall be
extinguished if an action is not brought within ten
years from the date on which the
producer put into circulation the individual product which caused the damage.
Article 8
The liability of the producer under this Convention cannot be excluded or limited by
any exemption or exoneration clause.
Article 9
This Convention shall not apply to:
- the liability of producers inter se and their rights of recourse against third
parties;
- nuclear damage.
Article 10
Contracting States shall not adopt rules derogating from this Convention, even if these
rules are more favourable to the victim.
Article 11
States may replace the liability of the producer, in a principal or subsidiary way,
wholly or in part, in a general way, or for
certain risks only, by the liability of a
guarantee fund or other form of collective guarantee, provided that the victim shall
receive protection at least equivalent to the protection he would have had under the
liability scheme provided for by this Convention.
Article 12
This Convention shall not effect any rights which a person suffering damage may have
according to the ordinary rules of the law
of contractual and extra-contractual liability
including any rules concerning the duties of a seller who sells goods in the course
of his
business.
Article 13
- This Convention shall be open to signature by the member States of the Council of
Europe. It shall be subject to ratification
acceptance or approval. Instruments of
ratification, acceptance or approval shall be deposited with the Secretary General of
the
Council of Europe.
- This Convention shall enter into force on the first day of the month following the
expiration of a period of six months after
the date of deposit of the third instrument of
ratification, acceptance or approval.
- In respect of a signatory State ratifying, accepting or approving subsequently, the
Convention shall come into force on the first
day of the month following the expiration of
a period of six months after the date of the deposit of its instrument of ratification,
acceptance or approval.
Article 14
- After the entry into force of this Convention, the Committee of the Ministers of the
Council of Europe may invite any non-member
State to accede thereto.
- Such accession shall be effected by depositing with the Secretary General of the Council
of Europe an instrument of accession
which shall take effect on the first day of the month
following the expiration of a period of six months after the date of its
deposit.
Article 15
- Any State may, at the time of signature or when depositing its instrument of
ratification, acceptance, approval or accession,
specify the territory or territories to
which this Convention shall apply.
- Any State may, when depositing its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or
accession or at any later date, by declaration
addressed to the Secretary General of the
Council of Europe, extend this Convention to any other territory or territories specified
in the declaration and for whose international relations it is responsible or on whose
behalf it is authorised to give undertakings.
- Any declaration made in pursuance of the preceding paragraph may, in respect of any
territory mentioned in such declaration, be
withdrawn by means of a notification addressed
to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. Such withdrawal shall take
effect on
the first day of the month following the expiration of a period of six months after the
date of receipt by the
Secretary General of the Council of Europe of the declaration of
withdrawal.
Article 16
- Any State may, at the time of signature or when depositing its instrument of
ratification, acceptance, approval or accession,
or at any later date, by notification
addressed to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, declare that, in pursuance
of
an international agreement to which it is a Party, it will not consider imports from one
or more specified States also
Parties to that agreement as imports for the purpose of
paragraph 2 and 3 of Article 3; in this case the person importing the
product into any of
these States from another State shall be deemed to be an importer for all the States
Parties to this
agreement.
- Any declaration made in pursuance of the preceding paragraph may be withdrawn by means
of a notification addressed to the Secretary
General of the Council of Europe. Such
withdrawal shall take effect the first day of the month following the expiration of a
period of one month after the date of receipt by the Secretary General of the Council of
Europe of the declaration of withdrawal.
Article 17
- No reservation shall be made to the provisions of this Convention except those mentioned
in the Annex to this Convention.
- The Contracting State which has made one of the reservations mentioned in the Annex to
this Convention may withdraw it by means
of a declaration addressed to the Secretary
General of the Council of Europe which shall become effective the first day of the
month
following the expiration of a period of one month after the date of its receipt by the
Secretary General.
Article 18
- Any Contracting State may, in so far as it is concerned, denounce this Convention by
means of a notification addressed to the
Secretary General of the Council of Europe.
- Such denunciation shall take effect on the first day of the month following the
expiration of a period of six months after the
date of receipt by the Secretary General of
such notification.
Article 19
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe shall notify the member States of the
Council and any State which has acceded to
this Convention of:
- any signature;
- any deposit of an instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession;
- any date of entry into force of this Convention in accordance with Article 13 thereof;
- any reservation made in pursuance of the provisions of Article 17, paragraph 1;
- withdrawal of any reservation carried out in pursuance of the provisions of Article 17,
paragraph 2;
- any communication or notification received in pursuance of the provisions of Article 1,
paragraph 2, Article 15, paragraphs
2 and 3 and Article 16, paragraphs 1 and 2;
- any notification received in pursuance of the provisions of Article 18 and the date on
which denunciation takes effect.
In witness whereof, the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto, have signed this
Convention.
Done at Strasbourg, this 27th day of January 1977, in English and in French, both texts
being equally authoritative, in a single
copy which shall remain deposited in the archives
of the Council of Europe. The Secretary General of the Council of Europe shall
transmit
certified copies of each of the signatory and the acceding States.
