Liability Arising from the Supply of Defective Products in Georgia: Administrative and Civil Law Remedies for Consumer Protection
The supply of a defective product or a product that does not comply with the requirements stipulated by the contract is not merely a matter of replacing the product or refunding its price. In certain cases, a defect in a product may also give rise to additional pecuniary damage, including transportation, installation, dismantling, repair, and other necessary expenses.
Georgian legislation provides several legal mechanisms for protecting consumers’ interests in such cases. The selection of the appropriate legal strategy depends both on the nature of the violation and on the extent of the damage incurred and the specific circumstances of the case.
Legal Framework
In Georgia, liability arising from the supply of defective or non-conforming products to consumers is regulated, inter alia, by the Law of Georgia on the Protection of Consumer Rights and the Civil Code of Georgia.
Consumer protection legislation places particular importance on the supply of products that do not comply with the requirements established by law or contract, or that lack the qualities and characteristics that a consumer may reasonably expect such products to possess.
At the same time, the legal mechanisms provided by the Civil Code establish a basis for a consumer to seek not only the restoration of a violated right, but also compensation for pecuniary damage caused to the consumer, where the relevant legal prerequisites are present.
Accordingly, where a product defect exists, the matter may be pursued through two parallel avenues: administrative and civil-law protection mechanisms.
Administrative Protection Mechanism
An important mechanism for responding to violations of consumer rights is submitting an application to the Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency.
Where the Agency establishes a violation of a consumer’s rights, the relevant legal response may include imposing an obligation on the trader to restore the consumer’s violated right.
Such a decision is also practically significant in that it provides the consumer with an officially established basis for the violation as determined by a state authority.
In cases provided for by law, failure to comply with an obligation imposed by the Agency may also result in additional administrative liability.
Accordingly, an administrative legal mechanism may serve as an effective means for a consumer to restore a right violated by a trader, particularly where the dispute concerns the conformity of a product with the requirements offered to the consumer or established by law.
Scope of Civil-Law Protection
The use of an administrative legal mechanism does not preclude a consumer from pursuing civil-law claims.
If the supply of a defective or non-conforming product causes additional pecuniary damage to a consumer, compensation for such damage may be sought where the relevant legal prerequisites are present.
Particular importance is attached to the actual extent of the damage incurred and the causal link between the defect in the product and the resulting damage.
For example, if, due to a defective product, a consumer is additionally required to incur expenses for:
transportation of the product;
its installation;
dismantling;
repeated transportation;
conducting an expert examination;
repairs or the performance of other necessary works,
such expenses may, where supported by appropriate evidence, constitute part of the compensable damage.
Therefore, in disputes of this nature, establishing the existence of a product defect alone is often insufficient. For a legal claim to succeed, it is important to establish what damage was caused by the defect, the amount of such damage, and the extent to which it is directly connected to the trader’s breach of its obligations.
Union Legal’s Practice
The practical significance of the above-mentioned legal mechanisms was clearly demonstrated in one of the cases handled by the team of the law firm Union Legal.
The case concerned the supply by a trader of a product to a consumer that did not meet the qualities and characteristics normally expected of a product belonging to the relevant category.
The product’s non-conformity not only created an issue concerning the value of the product itself, but also resulted in additional pecuniary expenses for the consumer, including the costs of transportation, installation, and dismantling of the product.
The issue of product conformity was of particular importance for the resolution of the dispute. The circumstances relating to the quality of the product, including its non-conformity with the relevant characteristics, were also confirmed by an expert opinion.
In the case, the Union Legal team structured its legal strategy around both civil-law and administrative mechanisms, thereby enabling the consumer’s violated rights to be addressed both through the courts and within the relevant administrative consumer protection mechanism.
Court Decision
Following the consideration of the case, the court established the fact of the violation of the consumer’s rights and ordered the trader to fully compensate the consumer for the damage caused.
The decision is significant in that the issue of liability was not limited solely to the existence of a product defect or the value of the product itself. The additional pecuniary damage incurred by the consumer as a result of the product’s non-conformity was also assessed.
In parallel, within the framework of the administrative consumer protection mechanism, the Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency also established a violation of the consumer’s rights and ordered the trader to ensure the restoration of the violated right.
Accordingly, based on the same factual circumstances, two distinct yet complementary legal protection mechanisms were used to protect the consumer’s interests.
What Does This Mean in Practice?
Disputes arising from the supply of defective products are often more complex than they may initially appear.
For a consumer, the relevant issues may extend beyond the simple question of whether a product is defective and may include:
whether the product complies with the requirements established by the contract or by law;
what evidence establishes the existence of the defect;
who is the responsible party — the trader, manufacturer, distributor, or another relevant entity;
what additional damage was suffered by the consumer;
whether there is a causal link between the product defect and the resulting damage;
which legal mechanism is appropriate in the particular circumstances; and
whether administrative and civil-law protection mechanisms may be used in parallel.
Accordingly, a successful legal strategy in such disputes does not merely involve establishing the fact of a violation. It requires the proper identification of evidence, full quantification of the damage, substantiation of the causal link, and coordinated use of the relevant legal mechanisms.
Law Firm Union Legal’s Approach
In Union Legal’s practice, consumer protection matters are considered not only from the perspective of a particular product or service quality issue, but also in the context of protecting the client’s ultimate economic interests.
Where a consumer suffers additional damage as a result of a violated right, our approach is based on a comprehensive legal assessment of the matter — beginning with establishing the conformity of the product and gathering relevant evidence, and extending to the selection and application of appropriate administrative and judicial legal mechanisms.
The above-mentioned case is a practical example of this approach: establishing the product’s non-conformity, presenting the relevant evidence, and applying the appropriate legal protection mechanisms made it possible to secure full compensation for the pecuniary damage suffered by the consumer.
