French Consumer Law is a comprehensive and comparative overview of French and EU law in this field, covering: advertising, unfair commercial practices, conditions for the validity of contracts, unfair terms, product conformity, latent defects, product safety.

French Consumer Law

Article 1245-10, 5° (former Article 1386-11, 5°) of the Civil Code allows the producer to absolve himself of liability by proving that the defect is due to the compliance of the product with mandatory legislative or regulatory rules . This provision must be combined with Article 1245-9 (former Article 1386-10) of the Civil Code which provides that “the producer may be responsible for the defect ev …

Compliance with standards

Article 1245-10, 5° (former Article 1386-11, 5°) of the Civil Code allows the producer to absolve himself of liability by proving that the defect is due to the compliance of the product with mandatory legislative or regulatory rules . This provision must be combined with Article 1245-9 (former Article 1386-10) of the Civil Code which provides that “the producer may be responsible for the defect even if the product has been manufactured in accordance with professional or other existing standards or has been the subject of an administrative authorization”. Therefore, according to the Toulouse Court of Appeal, the continued sale of a prosthesis and the fact that it has not been withdrawn from the market are not such as to exclude a possible defect .

To benefit from this exemption, the producer must demonstrate that the defect is the consequence of the application of mandatory legal rules and the regulations of the trade , and not only that he has made the product in accordance with professional standards. Compliance with the standards in force on the date the product is put into circulation is not such as to exclude the liability of the manufacturer in case of a defect . Thus, the regulatory safety of the product which can legitimately be expected within the meaning of Directive No 85/374 means that the product complies with the standards laid down by the health authorities . On the other hand, the fact that the product in question is ISO certified or is approved does not affect the liability incurred for defective products . The same applies where the product has undergone tests with satisfactory results .

Furthermore,  exemption from liability based on compliance of the product's instructions with mandatory rules - which implies that the defect is attributable to the standards with which the producer is obliged to comply, and not to the producer itself - cannot be invoked when the producer is able to provide greater safety for the product than that required by the regulatory authority. Thus, in the specific hypothesis of a lack of information, compliance with mandatory regulations does not exclude the producer's liability insofar as the information prescribed in the package insert that complies with the mandatory requirements of the marketing authorization only represents a minimum of safety, and knowledge of an additional serious risk for the safety of patients, acquired after the product has been put into circulation, implies that the producer must inform them of this risk by all appropriate means . 

Cass. civ. 1re, 27 November 2019, LawLex201900001469JBJ: considering that a court of appeal cannot refuse a laboratory the benefit of the exemption for conformity with the standards, when at the date the disputed drug was taken by the mother of the child, its presentation in the information documents, and in particular the package insert, was in conformity with the mandatory rules set forth by the competent health authority.

CA Toulouse, 9 December 2019, LawLex201900001571JBJ; CA Aix-en-Provence, 10 September 2020, LawLex202000002201JBJ: the fact that the prosthesis complies with the standards for marketing is irrelevant for the triggering of the producer's liability, especially since this does not exclude an isolated manufacturing defect that was not detected during quality control.

CA Douai, 1 June 2023, LawLex202300007727JBJ, noting that a product's compliance with standards only exonerates its producer from liability if the defect results from that compliance.

CA Douai, 23 June 2011, LawLex201200001563JBJ; CA Aix-en-Provence, 16 March 2017, LawLex201700000601JBJ: the manufacturer is liable for a defect in its shredder that did not allow the safety mechanism to be activated in a situation of great danger, despite the fact that the product was manufactured in compliance with an existing standard at the time of its entry into circulation and the accident, and that said standard has since been withdrawn by the Commission; CA Montpellier, 17 April 2018, LawLex201800000612JBJ: the performance of tests by the manufacturer of medical prostheses that indicate compliance with the standards in force does not exclude the existence of a product defect; TGI Poitiers, 26 June 2019, LawLex201900000997JBJ: no law provides that the fact that a  product is compliant can exclude the possibility of considering that it is a defective product; CA Paris, 7 September 2020, LawLex202000002199JBJ:  a manufacturer cannot rely on the declaration of conformity of an authorized body to escape liability insofar as liability can be incurred for the defect of a product, even though it was manufactured in compliance with the existing standard(s) or was the subject of an administrative authorization.

  CA Versailles, 15 November 2007, LawLex201200001859JBJ.

   CA Aix-en-Provence, 20 November 2013, LawLex201400000758JBJ

   CA Nancy, 9 February 2009, LawLex201200001940JBJ.

CA Douai, 22 September 2022, LawLex202200008024JBJ.

French Consumer Law

680. Compliance with standards

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680. Compliance with standards

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

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au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise