Product Liability Directive - Development Risks Defence

Article 15(1)(b) of the directive gives member states the option of adopting the development risks defence:

1. Each Member State may:
...
(b) by way of derogation ... maintain ... or provide in legislation that the producer shall be liable even if he proves that the state of scientific and technical knowledge at the time when he put the product into circulation was not such as to enable the existence of a defect to be discovered.

As of 2004, all EU member states other than Finland and Luxembourg had taken advantage of it to some extent.

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