On 9 September 2022, Law 4967/2022 on digital contracts entered into force. The new Law harmonizes Greek law with both (EU) Directive 2019/770 relating to contracts for the supply of digital content and services and (EU) Directive 2019/771 relating to contracts for the sale of goods.
In accordance with recitals 16 of the preamble to Directive (EU) 2019/770 and 21 of the preamble to Directive (EU) 2019/771, their arrangements are extended to any contract for the sale or supply of digital content or digital services. Consequently, amendments are made to the provisions of the Civil Code and specifically on sales law (namely Art. 513 et seq.), with the aim to regulate in a uniform manner every sales contract, regardless of the status of the contracting parties as traders or consumers.
It is further regulated that most of the provisions of Directive (EU) 2019/771 are incorporated into the Civil Code, while certain specific provisions are introduced in Law 2251/1994, which concerns consumer protection.
On the contrary, in order to avoid extensive amendments to the Civil Code, Directive (EU) 2019/770 constitutes an independent legislation.
The main amendments to the Civil Code are summarized in the following:
– The sales law provisions also apply to the sale of goods with digital elements if the digital elements are part of the sales contract.
Digital elements apply to any tangible movable object that performs functions requiring embedded or interconnected digital content or services. In case of doubt, the digital elements shall be part of the sales contract, regardless of whether they are provided by the seller or by a third-party provider of the digital elements.
– The seller shall deliver goods to the consumer that meet subjective and objective requirements for conformity in order to exclude the existence of an actual defect.
Furthermore, any lack of conformity resulting from the incorrect installation of the goods shall be regarded as lack of conformity of the goods.
In addition, possible restriction that prevents or limits the use of the goods resulting from a violation of any right of a third party, in particular intellectual property rights, shall be considered as lack of conformity of the goods.
An obligation is introduced for the seller of a digital asset to ensure that the buyer is notified and provided, usually by the third-party provider of the digital asset, with the required updates to the digital asset.
-The consumer shall be entitled to have the goods brought into conformity, to receive a proportionate reduction of the price, to terminate the contract or to claim damages.
-It is also established the right of the seller to refuse any remedy if both rectification and replacement are impossible or likely to involve disproportionate costs for the seller. In that case the buyer will have to exercise one of the other existing rights, namely a reduction of the price, revocation or claim for damages, as also specified in the new Article 545 CC.
In fact, Law 4967/2022 is an attempt to successfully address the multiple challenges posed today by an increasingly technology-driven economy and, more generally, responds to the EU’s orientation to create a level playing field for all businesses selling goods to consumers.
The Editorial Team