Articles

EU Product Liability Directive Tracker 2026

21 April 2026

For nearly forty years, product liability in the European Union has been governed by Directive 85/374/EEC, a regime conceived for an era in which products were predominantly physical and functionally stand-alone. Technological developments (e.g. software‑dependent devices, AI‑enabled systems) and increasingly complex supply chains have exposed structural limitations in this framework. As a result, the existing rules have struggled to deliver consistent consumer protection across Member States.

The new Product Liability Directive (EU) 2024/2853 (“New PLD“), adopted on 23 October 2024 and in force since 9 December 2024, marks a significant modernisation of the EU’s liability regime. It broadens the definition of a “product” to encompass software, AI systems, digital manufacturing files, raw materials and interconnected digital components. Amongst other things, the New PLD also lowers the evidentiary burden on claimants, introduces enhanced disclosure obligations and extends potential liability to additional entities in the supply chain.

EU Member States must transpose the New PLD into national law by 9 December 2026. Until that date, the existing 1985 Product Liability Directive continues to apply to products placed on the market before the new regime becomes applicable. Because the New PLD introduces substantive changes, its implementation may significantly increase litigation exposure for companies across Europe.

The legislative transposition process is progressing unevenly across jurisdictions. To support navigation of this transition, the EU Product Liability Directive tracker (2026) provides a structured, country‑by‑country overview of how various CEE & SEE jurisdictions are implementing the New PLD. The tracker follows eleven key parameters, including transposition status, changes required to existing national law, liability rules, evidentiary standards, interaction with collective redress mechanisms and overall litigation risk.

This tool covers the jurisdictions in which our teams operate or closely monitor developments: Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

By consolidating national updates into an accessible cross‑border overview, this tracker enables users to anticipate legal changes, assess comparative risk and prepare proactively for compliance and litigation strategies ahead of the 9 December 2026 deadline.

Albania

Section	Input
Current liability regime	Liability for defective products in Albania is mainly governed by (i) the Albanian Civil Code and (ii) Law No. 9902/2008 On Consumer Protection. The Albanian Civil Code regulates non-contractual liability and liability for damage caused by dangerous products. Law No. 9902/2008 On Consumer Protection regulates product safety, consumer guarantees and the obligations of producers, importers and distributors.
Transposition status	Albania is not an EU Member State and is under no formal obligation to transpose the New PLD into its legal system.
Timeline & transitional rules	N/A
Extent to which existing law needs to be changed due to the transposition of the directive	N/A
Scope of “product”	N/A
Defect & damages	N/A
Who can be liable	N/A
Burden of proof & evidence	N/A
Interaction with class actions	The administrative proceedings for protection of collective consumer interests, prescribed under the Consumer Protection Law, are currently the only applicable collective redress mechanism available under Albanian law. Such proceedings are generally aimed at stopping unlawful practices rather than obtaining compensation. A draft Law on collective redress has been under discussion since 2021.
Risk level for companies	Medium
Noteworthy country updates	N/A

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EU Product Liability Directive Tracker 2026

Blerta Nesho

Section	Input
Current liability regime	The Austrian Product Liability Act (“Produkthaftungsgesetz” or “PHG”), which implemented Directive 85/374/EEC, governs product liability in Austria. Apart from the PHG, liability for product defects may also arise under general tort law, contract law and contracts with protective effect for third parties.
Transposition status	The New PLD has not yet been transposed into Austrian law. Austria remains in the pre-implementation phase; no draft legislation has been published.
Timeline & transitional rules	N/A
Extent to which existing law needs to be changed due to the transposition of the directive	N/A
Scope of “product”	N/A
Defect & damages	N/A
Who can be liable	N/A
Burden of proof & evidence	N/A
Interaction with class actions	Product liability claims may be pursued through Austria’s representative action mechanisms, inter alia, under the 2024 Collective Redress Directive Implementation Act, provided they arise from essentially similar facts and involve at least 50 consumers on an opt-in basis.
Risk level for companies	N/A
Noteworthy country updates	N/A

Section	Input
Current liability regime	The current product liability framework reflects the country’s unique constitutional structure and is derived from the Consumer Protection Law of Bosnia & Herzegovina (“Zakon o zaštiti potrošača Bosne i Hercegovine“), the general civil liability regime under the Law on Obligations (“Zakon o obligacionim odnosima“) adopted at entity level in the Federation of BiH (“FBIH”) and Republika Srpska (“RS”) and the Consumer Protection Law of Republika Srpska (“Zakon o zaštiti potrošača Republike Srpske“), which regulates consumer rights, product safety and producer and importer responsibilities at entity level in the RS.
Transposition status	Bosnia & Herzegovina is not an EU Member State and is under no formal obligation to transpose the New PLD into its legal system.
Timeline & transitional rules	N/A
Extent to which existing law needs to be changed due to the transposition of the directive	N/A
Scope of “product”	N/A
Defect & damages	N/A
Who can be liable	N/A
Burden of proof & evidence	N/A
Interaction with class actions	The entity-level laws on civil proceedings provide rules governing special civil procedures for the protection of collective rights and interests.
Risk level for companies	Medium
Noteworthy country updates	Although Bosnia & Herzegovina holds EU candidate country status, no legislative drafts, formal initiatives, public consultations or preparatory steps have been launched to align domestic law with the New PLD. BiH remains in a pre-implementation phase with no indication of imminent legislative activity.

Section	Input
Current liability regime	The core legislation governing product liability in Bulgaria is the Consumer Protection Act (“CPA”), which implements the strict liability rules for damage caused by defective products as set out in EU Directive 85/374/EEC. In addition to the CPA, product liability may also arise under the Bulgarian Act on the Supply of Digital Content and Digital Services, general tort law and contract law.
Transposition status	No draft law or official transposition measures implementing the New PLD into Bulgarian national law have been adopted as at March 2026.
Timeline & transitional rules	N/A
Extent to which existing law needs to be changed due to the transposition of the directive	N/A
Scope of “product”	N/A
Defect & damages	N/A
Who can be liable	N/A
Burden of proof & evidence	N/A
Interaction with class actions	Product-liability claims may be pursued through Bulgaria’s representative action mechanisms, inter alia, under the CPA and the Code of Civil Procedure, which currently implement the Collective Redress Directive (EU) 2020/1828, provided the requirements for this are met.
Risk level for companies	N/A
Noteworthy country updates	According to the Bulgarian government’s legislative agenda for the transposition of the EU directives, the New PLD is expected to be implemented through a completely new act, which is currently being drafted and is expected to be finalised by August 2026 and approved by Parliament in November 2026.

Section	Input
Current liability regime	Croatia does not have a standalone product liability act. Liability for defective products is currently regulated in Articles 1073-1080 of the Croatian Obligations Act (“Zakon o obveznim odnosima“) which implements the rules laid down in Directive 85/374/EEC.
Transposition status	Croatia has not yet transposed the New PLD. However, the Draft Act on Amendments to the Obligations Act (“Draft Act”) was presented and published for public consultation between February and March 2026.
Timeline & transitional rules	The Draft Act provides that the product liability amendments will enter into force on 9 December 2026. Products placed on the market before this date will remain subject to the existing regime.
Extent to which existing law needs to be changed due to the transposition of the directive	Moderate change: Croatia already has a strict product liability regime, but the Draft Act broadens the scope of products, expands the circle of potentially liable actors, introduces new evidentiary tools and presumptions and amends limitation rules.
Scope of “product”	The Draft Act introduces a revised definition of a “product”. It would cover any movable item, even if integrated into another movable or immovable object and expressly includes electricity and other forms of energy, digital manufacturing files, raw materials and software. It also introduces related concepts such as connected services, component parts and substantial modification, reflecting the fact that modern products may depend on digital functions, updates and post-market changes. At the same time, free open-source software would remain outside the regime.
Defect & damages	Under the Draft Act, a product is defective if it does not provide the safety that may reasonably be expected or that is required under EU or national law. The assessment would take into account, among other things, presentation, reasonably foreseeable use, cybersecurity-related safety requirements, interconnection with other products, software updates and the product’s ability to continue learning or acquire new features. Recoverable damage includes death, bodily injury, health impairment (including medically recognised psychological harm), damage to non-business property and damage to data not used for professional purposes, as well as related non-pecuniary loss.
Who can be liable	The Draft Act introduces a broader “economic operator” definition. Depending on the circumstances, liability may extend to the manufacturer of the finished product, manufacturer of a defective component, importer, authorised representative, fulfilment service provider and a person who substantially modifies a product and reintroduces it to the market. A distributor may also become liable as a fallback if it does not identify the relevant EU-based operator within one month. Online platforms may likewise face liability where they present the product in a way that would lead consumers to believe that the product is provided by the platform itself or by a trader acting under its authority or control.
Burden of proof & evidence	The basic rule remains that the claimant must still prove the defect, damage and causation. However, the Draft Act introduces important presumptions. A defect may be presumed, for example, where the defendant fails to disclose relevant evidence, where mandatory safety requirements have been breached or where the damage results from an obvious malfunction. Causation may also be presumed when the defect is established and the harm is a typical consequence of that defect. Further presumptions apply where the claimant faces excessive evidentiary difficulties due to technical or scientific complexity. The Draft Act also introduces a new court-ordered disclosure regime, subject to proportionality and protection of trade secrets and confidential information.
Interaction with class actions	Croatia already has a consumer collective redress mechanism under the 2023 Act on Representative Actions for the Protection of Collective Interests and Rights of Consumers. Product liability claims within the scope of Directive 85/374/EEC may also be pursued through representative actions, including damages actions brought by qualified entities on behalf of consumers who have expressed their wish to be represented. It is likely that the same will apply under the new product liability regime once the Draft Act is enacted.
Risk level for companies	Medium to high: Especially for businesses dealing with software-enabled, connected or imported products. The Draft Act broadens the scope of products and damages, expands the range of potentially liable actors and introduces disclosure duties and presumptions, which, at least in theory, make it easier for claimants to pursue technically complex cases.
Noteworthy country updates	Croatia has already published draft legislation that was opened for public consultation. For the time being, the text remains in draft form, so the final wording may still change. At this stage, adoption is expected in Q2 or Q3 2026.

Section	Input
Current liability regime	Directive 85/374/EEC is implemented in the Civil Code (Articles 2939–2943); in addition, liability for product defects may also arise under general tort law, contract law and contracts with protective effect for third parties.
Transposition status	The New PLD has not yet been transposed into Czech law. The Czech Republic remains in the pre-implementation phase; draft legislation has been registered in the internal governmental legislative database and is undergoing the legislative process.
Timeline & transitional rules	N/A
Extent to which existing law needs to be changed due to the transposition of the directive	N/A
Scope of “product”	N/A
Defect & damages	N/A
Who can be liable	N/A
Burden of proof & evidence	N/A
Interaction with class actions	Product liability claims may be pursued through Czech representative action mechanisms under the 2024 Collective Redress Directive Implementation Act, provided they arise from essentially similar facts and involve at least 10 consumers on an opt-in basis.
Risk level for companies	N/A
Noteworthy country updates	N/A

Section	Input
Current liability regime	The Hungarian Civil Code (“Polgári Törvénykönyvről szóló 2013. évi V. törvény“), which governed product liability under Directive 85/374/EEC and continues to apply in the absence of a dedicated collective redress regime.
Transposition status	The New PLD has already been transposed into Hungarian law.
Timeline & transitional rules	The implemented provisions of the New PLD will enter into force on 9 December 2026.
Extent to which existing law needs to be changed due to the transposition of the directive	Significant change
Scope of “product”	The definition of product as a movable item has been extended to include electricity, digital manufacturing files, raw materials and software.
Defect & damages	A product is defective if it does not provide the safety that a person is entitled to expect or that is required under Union or national law. A product is not defective solely because a better product, update or upgrade exists. Recoverable damage comprises: (i) death, personal injury or impairment of physical or mental health; (ii) damage to items other than the defective product and (iii) damage to data used for non‑professional purposes.
Who can be liable	Liability for product damage rests with the manufacturer of the defective product and, where relevant, the manufacturer of a defective component. If the manufacturer or component producer is established outside the European Union, liability shifts to the importer, the authorised representative or, failing these, the logistics service provider. The manufacturer is jointly and severally liable with these persons. Any person who substantially modifies a product outside the manufacturer’s control and subsequently distributes or puts it into service is also considered a manufacturer. A distributor, including certain online platform providers, is liable if the responsible enterprise cannot be identified and is not disclosed within one month following a request by the injured party.
Burden of proof & evidence	Under the new provisions, the injured party must prove the defectiveness of the product, the occurrence and extent of the damage and the causal link between the defect and the damage. Under certain conditions defectiveness and causation are presumed unless proven otherwise. Further presumptions apply where proof is exceptionally difficult due to technical or scientific complexity and the injured party plausibly demonstrates defectiveness or causation. Specific exemptions apply to component manufacturers and to persons substantially modifying a product, subject to proof that the defect is not attributable to them. No exemption applies where the defect is linked to software (including missing updates), related services under the manufacturer’s control or a substantial product modification.
Interaction with class actions	Product liability claims may, in cases of widespread consumer harm, be pursued through Hungarian collective redress mechanisms. Public interest actions may be brought under Chapter XLII of Act CXXX of 2016 on the Code of Civil Procedure by designated authorities and bodies. In addition, associated actions may be brought by at least ten claimants to enforce substantively identical claims, subject to court authorisation, including claims arising from consumer contracts (Section 586(2)(a) of Act CXXX of 2016).
Risk level for companies	Medium to high: Litigation risk has increased, as the preconditions for product liability claims have been lowered and the scope of persons against whom claims may be asserted under the new product liability rules has become broader.
Noteworthy country updates	N/A

Section	Input
Current liability regime	Product liability is currently implemented mainly in the Polish Civil Code, Title VI (liability for damage caused by a defective product).
Transposition status	The New PLD has not yet been transposed into Polish law. Poland remains in the pre-implementation phase; no draft legislation has been published.
Timeline & transitional rules	N/A
Extent to which existing law needs to be changed due to the transposition of the directive	N/A
Scope of “product”	N/A
Defect & damages	N/A
Who can be liable	N/A
Burden of proof & evidence	N/A
Interaction with class actions	Product liability claims may be pursued under class action or representative action mechanisms regulated by the Act of 17 December 2009 on the pursuit of claims in group proceedings. For class actions, claims must be brought by a group of at least ten individuals, based on the same or similar set of facts, with claims meeting the criterion of homogeneity. For representative actions, the requirements relating to group size and the same factual background do not apply. Both regimes operate under the “opt-out principle”.
Risk level for companies	N/A
Noteworthy country updates	N/A

Section	Input
Current liability regime	Law No. 240/2004 on the liability of producers for damages caused by defective products, which transposed Directive 85/374/EEC, establishes the special product liability regime in Romania. In addition to this regime, liability for product defects may also arise under general tort law, contract law and general consumer protection law based on Government Ordinance No. 21/1992.
Transposition status	The New PLD has not yet been transposed into Romanian law. Romania remains in the pre-implementation phase; no draft legislation has been published.
Timeline & transitional rules	N/A
Extent to which existing law needs to be changed due to the transposition of the directive	N/A
Scope of “product”	N/A
Defect & damages	N/A
Who can be liable	N/A
Burden of proof & evidence	N/A
Interaction with class actions	Claims under the New PLD may be pursued through EU representative actions. Romania implemented Directive 2020/1828 through Law No. 414/2023, allowing qualified entities to seek injunctive and redress measures.
Risk level for companies	N/A
Noteworthy country updates	N/A

Section	Input
Current liability regime	The current consumer protection and product liability framework in Serbia includes two main regimes: (i) the general regime prescribed by the Serbian Law on Contracts and Torts (“Zakon o obligacionim odnosima“) and (ii) the sectoral regime prescribed by specific consumer protection laws, primarily set out in the Serbian Law on Consumer Protection (“Zakon o zaštiti potrošača“, “LPC“), which largely mirrors the rules of Directive 85/374/EEC.
Transposition status	Serbia is not an EU Member State and is under no formal obligation to transpose the New PLD into its legal system.
Timeline & transitional rules	N/A
Extent to which existing law needs to be changed due to the transposition of the directive	N/A
Scope of “product”	N/A
Defect & damages	N/A
Who can be liable	N/A
Burden of proof & evidence	N/A
Interaction with class actions	The administrative proceedings for protection of collective consumer interest, prescribed under the LPC, are currently the only applicable collective redress mechanism provided for under Serbian law.
Risk level for companies	Medium
Noteworthy country updates	As part of the EU accession process, Serbia aims to align its legislation with that of the EU. However, it is currently still uncertain whether, when or to what extent Serbia will incorporate the PLD’s new concepts.

Section	Input
Current liability regime	The Slovak Product Liability Act (Act No. 294/1999 Coll.), which implemented Directive 85/374/EEC, governs product liability in Slovakia. In addition to the Product Liability Act, liability for product defects may also arise under general contract law.
Transposition status	The New PLD has not yet been transposed into Slovak law. A Draft Act is in the consultation stage and is expected to be submitted to the Government in May 2026.
Timeline & transitional rules	Products placed on the market or put into service after 9 December 2026 follow the new regime.
Extent to which existing law needs to be changed due to the transposition of the directive	Significant change
Scope of “product”	The new regime also expressly covers digital manufacturing files, software and raw materials.
Defect & damages	The definition of a defective product aligns with Article 7 of the New PLD. The scope of recoverable damages aligns with Article 6 of the New PLD.
Who can be liable	The categories of liable parties align with Article 8 of the New PLD.
Burden of proof & evidence	The rules on presumptions and the burden of proof align with Articles 9 and 10 of the New PLD.
Interaction with class actions	Product liability claims may be pursued through representative actions under the Collective Redress Directive Implementation Act, provided they arise from essentially similar facts and involve at least 20 consumers on an opt-in basis.
Risk level for companies	Medium
Noteworthy country updates	N/A

Section	Input
Current liability regime	The Slovenian Consumer Protection Act (“Zakon o varstvu potrošnikov“, ZVPot-1, Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 130/22), which transposed Directive 85/374/EEC, established the product liability framework in Slovenia
Transposition status	The New PLD has not yet been transposed into Slovenian law. The New PLD will be transposed through an amendment to the Consumer Protection Act. A draft amendment was submitted to the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for consideration in December 2025 by the competent ministry, but the Government has not yet decided on it or proposed it to the National Assembly for adoption. The timeline for transposition therefore remains unclear.
Timeline & transitional rules	N/A
Extent to which existing law needs to be changed due to the transposition of the directive	Moderate
Scope of “product”	Under the proposed amendment to the Consumer Protection Act, there will be no change to the definition of a “product”.
Defect & damages	Under the proposed amendment to the Consumer Protection Act, there will be no change to what constitutes a defect or to the damages covered.
Who can be liable	Under the proposed amendment to the Consumer Protection Act, there will be no change to the liable parties (i.e. producers and suppliers).
Burden of proof & evidence	Under the proposed amendment to the Consumer Protection Act, there will be no change to the distribution of the burden of proof (the injured party must establish the defect, the damage and the causal link).
Interaction with class actions	Product liability claims may be pursued through the collective action mechanism provided by the Slovenian Collective Lawsuit Act.
Risk level for companies	Medium
Noteworthy country updates	N/A

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Albania

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Blerta Nesho

Austria

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Stephan Kugler

Thomas Labner

Bosnia & Herzegovina

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Wolf Theiss

Bulgaria

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Oleg Temnikov

Talliya Romanova

Croatia

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Borna Dejanovic

Ira Peric Ostojic

Luka Svic

Czech Republic

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Robert Pelikan

Tereza Mrazkova

Hungary

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Timea Csajagi

Poland

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Marcin Rudnik

Olga Gerlich

Romania

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Ligia Cecilia Popescu

Bogdan Lamatic

Serbia

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Natasa Lalovic Maric

Aleksandar Ristic

Stefan Silobad

Slovakia

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Katarina Matulnikova

Marko Ernek

Slovenia

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Simon Tecco

Contributors

Blerta Nesho

Stephan Kugler

Thomas Labner

Wolf Theiss

Oleg Temnikov

Talliya Romanova

Borna Dejanovic

Ira Peric Ostojic

Luka Svic

Robert Pelikan

Tereza Mrazkova

Timea Csajagi

Marcin Rudnik

Olga Gerlich

Ligia Cecilia Popescu

Bogdan Lamatic

Natasa Lalovic Maric

Aleksandar Ristic

Stefan Silobad

Katarina Matulnikova

Marko Ernek

Simon Tecco

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