The amendment to the Civil Code and the Consumer Protection Act effective from 6 January 2023 brought, inter alia, a different legal regulation in the area of instructions for use (within the framework of the trader’s information obligations towards the consumer).

The fundamental change was reflected in the provision of Section 9 of the Consumer Protection Act. Specifically, its paragraph 1 provides that “the seller is obliged to properly inform the consumer of the method of use and maintenance of the product and of the danger arising from its incorrect use or maintenance, as well as of the risk associated with the service provided.” The actual question of instructions for use is then addressed by the last sentence of this paragraph: “Where necessary with regard to the nature of the product sold or service provided and the manner and duration of their use, the seller is obliged to ensure that this information is contained in written instructions and that it is comprehensible.” According to this provision, the instructions should therefore be written and comprehensible so as to ensure the required consumer protection promoted within the European Union. However, the written form of the instructions in this sense presumably does not mean that it must be a printed document with the trader’s signature, but rather that the instructions should be made available to the consumer by the trader in text form. It will continue to apply that the seller cannot be released from this obligation by the fact that the manufacturer did not provide him with instructions, etc.

The form in which the seller should provide instructions to the consumer is regulated by the provision of Section 9 paragraph 2 of the Consumer Protection Act. Specifically, it is to be enshrined that “the seller shall provide the consumer with instructions … on a durable medium.” What can be understood by this? The statutory definition of the term “durable medium” derives from the Payment System Act. Within the framework of this Act, a durable medium is defined as any object which enables the user to store information addressed to him personally in such a way that it can be used for a period appropriate to the purpose of this information, and which enables the reproduction of this information in unaltered form. According to the explanatory memorandum to the government bill, durable media “include, for example, paper, USB devices, CD-ROMs, DVDs, memory cards or computer hard drives and electronic mail.” On the other hand, instructions available on the trader’s website are not considered a durable medium.

The last sentence of the provision of Section 9 paragraph 2 of the Consumer Protection Act is then to address situations where the consumer requests a paper form of the instructions for use: “The seller shall provide the consumer with instructions in paper form if the consumer so requests and unless this is disproportionate having regard to the circumstances and manner of concluding the contract, the characteristics of the product sold or the nature of the service provided.” The paper form of instructions will therefore be rather an exceptional case.

We remind that supervision in this area will also be exercised by the Czech Trade Inspection Authority. In the event of a breach of the information obligation in question on the part of the trader, the failure is assessed as an administrative offence, for which a fine of up to CZK 1,000,000 may be imposed. However, at this moment it cannot be assumed that sanctions of this amount would actually be imposed by the Czech Trade Inspection Authority.

The extension of the legal regulation in the area of instructions for use does not concern only the Consumer Protection Act, but will also be reflected in the trader’s liability for defects in goods (within the framework of the Civil Code). Within the new wording of the provision of Section 2161 of the Civil Code, which defines the liability of a trader for defects in goods towards the consumer, a new requirement appears. Specifically, this concerns the seller’s obligation set out in the provision of Section 2161 paragraph 1 letter c) of the Civil Code, which is to provide that the thing must be “delivered with the agreed accessories and instructions for use, including assembly or installation instructions.” Failure to fulfil this obligation means that the goods were delivered defectively and the consumer may invoke his rights arising from liability for defects.

Aneta Kalivodová and Josef Aujezdský

This text was originally prepared by the law firm Mašek, Kočí, Aujezdský in cooperation with the Association for Electronic Commerce (APEK) as legal circular No. 06/2022 intended for members of this association.

This text was translated from Czech to English using an AI translator.