A liability regime in which the victim need not prove fault, but only the harm, the defect and the causal link between the two.
Strict liability, or no-fault liability, relieves the victim of the need to demonstrate the negligence of the party causing the harm. They need only establish three elements, the defect of the product, the harm suffered and the causal link between the two. This regime contrasts with fault-based liability, which requires proof of a breach and places a far heavier evidentiary burden on the victim. Directive (EU) 2024/2853 on liability for defective products, which now explicitly includes software and artificial intelligence systems within the notion of product, thus subjects defective AI to strict liability, coupling it with presumptions of defectiveness or causality intended to offset the technical opacity of these systems. Its scope nonetheless remains bounded to personal injury, property damage and loss of data, excluding purely economic loss and infringements of fundamental rights.
If an AI-equipped medical device causes an injury, the victim need not prove the manufacturer's negligence, but only the product's defect, the harm and their causal link, in accordance with the revised Product Liability Directive.
responsabilité objective, no-fault liability