Abstract
The rule according to which the selling entrepreneur proves that the goods were in perfect condition when taken over by the consumer is one of the central provisions of consumer regulation of rights arising from defective performance in other countries. In Czech legal scholarship, on the other hand, the presumption of non-conformity has received almost no attention, since the role it plays abroad has been taken over by the provisions on guarantee liability.
Since Act No. 374/2022 Coll. abolishes the guarantee liability in consumer relations, the presumption of non-conformity is also gaining importance in Czech law. The article opens a scientific discourse in Czech legal science on the rule establishing the presumption of non-conformity and answers basic questions related to its application.
The paper first discusses the European background of the presumption of non-conformity rule and its meaning and purpose. The next part of the paper defines the scope of the rule and explains why the presumption of non-conformity can play a similar role to guarantee liability in practice.
In the following parts, the author discusses the duration of the presumption of non-conformity. The paper concludes by examining the entrepreneur's defense against the application of the presumption of non-conformity.
The author analyses the entrepreneur's possibility to prove that the goods were in perfect condition at the time of taking possession of the goods and discusses the exclusions from the application of the presumption of non-conformity for incompatibility with the nature of the goods and the lack of conformity.