Product Liability in Slovakia: What Changes Under the New Act?
From 09.12.2026, Slovakia will introduce a new product liability regime under Act No. 242/2026 Coll. on Liability for Damage Caused by a Defective Product, replacing Act No. 294/1999 Coll. The new legislation modernises the liability framework, broadens the scope of products and potentially liable persons, and strengthens the procedural position of injured parties. It will apply to products placed on the market or put into service from 09.12.2026, while products placed on the market or put into service earlier will remain subject to the previous legal framework.
The basic principle remains that a natural person who suffers damage caused by a defective product is entitled to compensation. Compensable damage includes death or personal injury, including medically recognised psychological harm, damage to or destruction of property and, under certain conditions, destruction or corruption of data. However, the Act also provides exclusions, including damage to the defective product itself, property used exclusively for business or professional purposes, and certain cases involving damage to a product caused by a defective component. Compensation for data used for business or professional purposes is also excluded. A product is considered defective where it does not provide the level of safety that may reasonably be expected or is required under specific legislation.
A significant change concerns the broader range of potentially liable persons. The manufacturer remains primarily liable, while the manufacturer of a defective component may also be responsible. Where the manufacturer is not established in the European Union or European Economic Area, liability may extend to the importer, authorised representative or fulfilment service provider. Under the statutory conditions, a distributor may also be liable, particularly where it fails to identify the relevant liable person or its supplier within one month of the injured person's request. Liability may also extend to online platform providers where the specific conditions under Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council on a Single Market for Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act) are met. Where several persons are liable for the same damage, their liability is joint and several.
One of the most important developments concerns the procedural position of injured persons. Although the claimant generally remains responsible for proving the defect, the damage and the causal link between them, the Act introduces several rebuttable legal presumptions. A product is presumed defective, for example, where the defendant fails to disclose relevant evidence as ordered by the court or where the claimant establishes non-compliance with applicable safety requirements. In technically or scientifically complex cases, the court must presume defectiveness, causation or both where the claimant faces excessive difficulties in proving them and establishes their likelihood. The defendant retains the right to rebut these presumptions.
The Act also regulates time limits for bringing claims. A claim becomes time-barred three years after the injured person became, or could reasonably have become, aware of the damage, the defect and the identity of the liable person. As a general rule, the right to compensation expires ten years after the product was placed on the market or put into service, or after a substantially modified product was subsequently made available on the market or put into service. However, where the injured person was unable to bring a claim within that period because the personal injury manifested itself only later, the right expires after 25 years. Liability under the Act cannot be contractually or unilaterally excluded or limited to the detriment of the injured person, without prejudice to the statutory defences and rules concerning the injured person's contribution to the damage.
The new legislation therefore establishes a broader product liability framework while reducing certain evidential barriers faced by injured persons. Manufacturers, importers, distributors, online platforms and other actors in the supply chain should focus not only on ensuring product safety, but also on maintaining proper documentation, identifying liable entities and being prepared to establish the relevant facts in potential product liability disputes.
