Extending the limitation period in product liability claims under the Revised Product Liability Directive – the Polish perspective

Extending the limitation period in product liability claims under the Revised Product Liability Directive – the Polish perspective

The EU has enacted a Revised Product Liability Directive (RPLD)  (Directive (EU) 2024/2853) which is now in force. The RPLD makes significant changes to the current EU product liability regime to ensure that it reflects the nature and risks to consumers of products in our digital age. In this article we will consider the changes made to the period in which claims against producers can be made and the significance of these changes in the context of the current product liability regime in Poland.

Extension of the limitation period – Article 17

The EU legislator acknowledged that products age over time and that advancements in science and technology continually lead to the development of higher safety standards. Consequently, the RPLD updates limitation periods primarily to address the realities of increasingly complex products and services.  The changes recognise that it would be unreasonable for manufacturers to bear unlimited liability for the potential defects of their products without any time-based restrictions but balances that with extending the time within which injured parties can bring claims, enabling stronger consumer protection with clear accountability for producers and other economic operators.  

While Member States have discretion as to the way they implement some provisions of the RPLD into their national law, this is not the case with those concerning limitation of liability.  EU legislators have therefore agreed the following  rules on product liability limitation periods:

• Standard period of limitation of three years 

In principle, the standard limitation period is three years from the day on which the injured person became aware of the specified facts (Article 16(1) of the Product Liability Directive).

• Continuation of the period of limitation of 10 years

The Directive introduces a period of limitation of 10 years which starts to run from the date on which the manufacturer placed the defective product which caused damage on the market or put such product into service, or from the date on which the product, having been significantly modified (in a situation when it had been significantly modified), was placed on the market or put into service, unless the injured person has initiated proceedings against the manufacturer before expiry of the time limit (Article 17(1) of the Directive). 

• Possible extension of the period of limitation to 25 years

The Product Liability Directive provides for a limitation period of 25 years if an injured person is unable to initiate proceedings within 10 years due to the latency period of a personal injury (Article 17(2) of the Product Liability Directive).

Impact on the current Polish Product Liability Regime

This will have an impact on the limitation period for claims for damage caused by a hazardous product provided for by the Polish Civil Code. The statute of limitation of claims under the product liability regime is regulated in Polish law by Article 449⁸ of the Civil Code. 

Pursuant to Article 449⁸ of the Polish Civil Code: “A claim for the redress of the damage caused by the hazardous product will be time-barred upon the lapse of three years of the day when the injured person became aware, or might have become aware, had the injured person exercised due diligence, of the damage and of the person obliged to redress it. In any case, however, the claim will be time-barred upon the lapse of 10 years of the date when the product was placed on the market.” 

The origin of the binding wording of Article 449⁸ of the Polish Civil Code goes back to the implementation of Article 10 of Directive 85/374/EEC, which is to be repealed when Directive 2024/2853 comes into effect. Article 11 of the Directive is implemented by both introducing the period of limitation of three years and the second sentence of the Article, which reads that irrespective of whether and when the period of limitation started, as counted from the date on which the injured person became aware of the defectiveness of the product, the claim becomes time-barred upon the lapse of 10 years from placing the product on the market.  

This means that the Polish legislator will be required to adjust the wording of Article 449⁸ of the Polish Civil Code to the wording of Article 17 introduced under Directive 2024/2853: i.e. to ensure that the injured person is entitled to compensation for a period of up to 10 years - unless such person has, in the meantime, initiated legal proceedings against an economic operator that can be held liable pursuant to Article 8 of the Directive –which is calculated, pursuant to Article 17, not only from the date on which the defective product was placed on the market by the manufacturer, but also: 

• put into service; 
• and if the product has been significantly modified – the date when it was made available on the market or put into service after it had been significantly modified.

In addition, one exception referred to in Article 17(2) will need to be included, namely an event in which due to the latency of a personal injury the period of limitation may be 25 years.

Next Steps

The RPLD must be implemented in all Member States by 9 December 2026 and will not apply to products placed on the market or put into service before that date. 

This article is part of a larger series of articles on the new RPLD which include:

Update: Reform of product liability adopted - New liability and litigation risks for companies! - Bird & Bird

The Defectiveness of Products under the New EU Product Liability Directive - the German Perspective - Bird & Bird

Expansion of the definition of product under The Revised Product Liability Directive the Finnish Pe - Bird & Bird