This contribution is a brief comment to the judgment of the Court of Justice in the case C-267/20 Volvo/DAF, specifically to the part concerning the applicability of the regulation of limitation periods in the Directive 2014/104/EU (Damages Directive) and the respective transposing laws. The contribution discusses the judgment with regard to two problematic aspects: (i) the retrospective applicability of the regulation to cases where the damages claim was not yet time-barred when the transposing law entered into force without any legal basis, which is less problematic; and (ii) the application of the content of the regulation in the Damages Directive (beginning of the limitation period) to cases from before the adoption of the Damages Directive on the basis of the principle of effectiveness.
This is, according to authors, not only contrary to the fundamental principle of legal certainty but can also have negative impact on business relations.