제품제조자 보증에 대한 판매자의 설명의무와 범위 - EuGH v. 5.5.2022, C-179/21를 중심으로 -

Abstract

The judgment is significant because it confirms the unclear provisions of the EU Directive and the German Civil Code. It resolves the uncertainty as to whether the seller of a product must provide information about the commercial guarantee provided by the manufacturer. In this sense, the EU Court's decision on whether the existence and terms of third-party commercial guarantee, including manufacturer's commercial guarantee, on products must be provided prior to the contract is appropriate. So far, we have been discussing commercial guarantee as an administrative regulation to maintain product quality. In order to ensure private autonomy and competition, a regulation about commercial guarantee is necessary, and we have reviewed its outline. In order to receive the manufacturer's commercial guarantee information from the seller, the consumer must have a legitimate interest, and in order to determine whether such a legitimate interest exists, it was confirmed that the EU court emphasized a high level of consumer protection and at the same time considered competition between sellers. In addition, as a criterion for determining the legitimate interest arising from the seller's information provision requirement, the seller must have used the manufacturer's commercial guarantee as a central element of the offer. For this reason, the German Federal Supreme Court ruled that if the seller only incidentally used the manufacturer's commercial guarantee, it was judged that the seller did not need to provide information in advance as it was not sufficient to be recognized as a central element. Furthermore, the information that the seller must provide to the consumer regarding the commercial guarantee is all information regarding the application and exercise of the commercial guarantee in order for the consumer to decide whether to enter into a contract.