Consumer Protection Act 1987
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1987 c. 43 |
| Year | 1987 |
Consumer Protection Act 1987
1987 CHAPTER 43
An Act to make provision with respect to the liability of persons for damage caused by defective products; to consolidate with amendments the Consumer Safety Act 1978 and the Consumer Safety (Amendment) Act 1986; to make provision with respect to the giving of price indications; to amend Part I of the Health and Safety at Work
etc.
Act 1974 and sections 31 and 80 of the Explosives Act 1875; to repeal the Trade Descriptions Act 1972 and the Fabrics (Misdescription) Act 1913; and for connected purposes.
[15th May 1987]
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1
Act excluded (30.10.2005) by The Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/2475), reg. 44
C2
By the Toys (Safety) Regulations 1989, S.I. 1989/1275, reg. 15(1) it is provided that those Regulations shall be treated for all purposes as if they were safety regulations within the meaning of this Act
C3
Act extended (6.4.1992) by S.I. 1992/711, reg. 30
Act extended (24.2.1995) by S.I. 1995/204, reg. 16(1)
Act applied (1.1.1995) by S.I. 1994/3142, reg. 18(6)
C4
Act continued (1.10.2015) by The Consumer Rights Act 2015 (Commencement No. 3, Transitional Provisions, Savings and Consequential Amendments) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/1630), art. 8(8)
C5
Act applied in part (with modifications) (20.5.2016) by The Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/829), reg. 18 (with regs. 14(5), 20)
Extent Information
E1
Act extends to Northern Ireland with specified exceptions, see s. 49
Commencement Information
I1
Act not in force at Royal Assent see s.50; Act fully in force 1.3.1989 (subject to reservations in S.I. 1988/2076).
(1)
This Part
F1
was enacted
for the purpose of making such provision as
F2
was
necessary in order to comply with the product liability Directive and shall be construed accordingly.
(2)
In this Part, except in so far as the context otherwise requires—
F3
...
“
dependant
” and “
relative
” have the same meaning as they have in, respectively, the
M1
Fatal Accidents Act 1976 and the
F4
Damages (Scotland) Act 2011
;
“
producer
”, in relation to a product, means—
(a)
the person who manufactured it;
(b)
in the case of a substance which has not been manufactured but has been won or abstracted, the person who won or abstracted it;
(c)
in the case of a product which has not been manufactured, won or abstracted but essential characteristics of which are attributable to an industrial or other process having been carried out (for example, in relation to agricultural produce), the person who carried out that process;
“
product
” means any goods or electricity and (subject to subsection (3) below) includes a product which is comprised in another product, whether by virtue of being a component part or raw material or otherwise; and
“
the product liability Directive
” means the Directive of the Council of the
F5
European Union
, dated 25th July 1985, (
No.
85/374/
EEC
) on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the member States concerning liability for defective products.
(3)
For the purposes of this Part a person who supplies any product in which products are comprised, whether by virtue of being component parts or raw materials or otherwise, shall not be treated by reason only of his supply of that product as supplying any of the products so comprised.
Amendments (Textual)
F1
Words in s. 1(1) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/696), reg. 1, Sch. 3 para. 2(1) (as amended by S.I. 2020/676, regs. 1(1), 2); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
F2
Word in s. 1(1) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/696), reg. 1, Sch. 3 para. 2(2) (as amended by S.I. 2020/676, regs. 1(1), 2); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
F3
Definition of "agricultural produce" in s. 1(2) omitted (E.W.) (4.12.2000) by virtue of S.I. 2000/2771, art. 2(2) and that same definition omitted (S.) (19.7.2001) by virtue of S.S.I. 2001/265, art. 2(2)
F4
Words in s. 1(2) substituted (S.) (7.7.2011) by Damages (Scotland) Act 2011 (asp 7), ss. 15, 19(3), Sch. 1 para. 4(1) (with ss. 17, 19(2)); S.S.I. 2011/268, art. 3, (with art. 4)
F5
Words in s. 1(2)(c) substituted (22.4.2011) by The Treaty of Lisbon (Changes in Terminology) Order 2011 (S.I. 2011/1043), art. 4(1)
Marginal Citations
M1
1976 c. 30.
(1)
Subject to the following provisions of this Part, where any damage is caused wholly or partly by a defect in a product, every person to whom subsection (2) below applies shall be liable for the damage.
(2)
This subsection applies to—
(a)
the producer of the product;
(b)
any person who, by putting his name on the product or using a trade mark or other distinguishing mark in relation to the product, has held himself out to be the producer of the product;
(c)
any person who has imported the product into
F6
the United Kingdom
in order, in the course of any business of his, to supply it to another.
(3)
Subject as aforesaid, where any damage is caused wholly or partly by a defect in a product, any person who supplied the product (whether to the person who suffered the damage, to the producer of any product in which the product in question is comprised or to any other person) shall be liable for the damage if—
(a)
the person who suffered the damage requests the supplier to identify one or more of the persons (whether still in existence or not) to whom subsection (2) above applies in relation to the product;
(b)
that request is made within a reasonable period after the damage occurs and at a time when it is not reasonably practicable for the person making the request to identify all those persons; and
(c)
the supplier fails, within a reasonable period after receiving the request, either to comply with the request or to identify the person who supplied...
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