DENMARK Law and Practice Contributed by: Heidi Bloch, Rasmus Tommerup and Rasmus Estrup, Kennedys
1. Product Safety 1.1 Product Safety Legal Framework The Danish Product Safety Act This is the primary act in Denmark concerning product safety. Additionally, there are several sets of regulations for specific types of prod - ucts. This applies, for instance, to toys, electri - cal products, and machinery. The Product Safety Act establishes the obligations of manufactur - ers, distributors, and importers ( “traders” ) to only place safe products on the market and to take relevant measures if a product is found to pose a risk to users. The Product Safety Act comple - ments the Market Surveillance Regulation and expands the safety regulation of products and the authorities’ capacities in this regard. Regulation on General Product Safety On 13 December 2024, the EU Regulation on product safety came into effect which consum - er products must comply with, if sold in an EU country. Generally, the Regulation sets rules for labelling, product safety in e-commerce and the use of new technologies. Products subject to this Regulation are also governed by the Danish Product Safety Act, including its market‑surveil - lance and enforcement provisions. 1.2 Regulatory Authorities for Product Safety The Danish Safety Technology Authority is a government agency overseeing product safety regulations and enforcement in Denmark. The Danish Safety Technology Authority conducts inspections, monitors compliance, and has the authority to order a withdrawal or recall. Additionally, there are sector-specific regulators responsible for overseeing product safety in cer - tain industries. For instance, the Danish Medi - cines Agency oversees regulations concerning
medical equipment and products, while the Danish Environmental Protection Agency over - sees regulations related to products’ chemical properties. 1.3 Obligations to Commence Corrective Action According to the Danish Product Safety Act, the responsibility for product compliance lies with the commercial operators, who is obligated to actively ensure that products placed on the mar - ket complies with legislation and are safe to use. If a product is not compliant, it must not be adver - tised or made available on the market. Therefore, all commercial operators have a general duty to ensure that the products they place on the mar - ket are safe to use. The assessment of whether a product is safe or not must be based on factors such as the product’s characteristics and pur - pose, the users’ conditions and the possibility of providing guidance on and warning against any potential dangers associated with the product. If a commercial operator becomes aware that a product they have placed on the market is not safe when used in an usual and expected man - ner, they must immediately notify the Danish Safety Technology Authority and take the nec - essary measures. It is up to the commercial operator to decide which measures, given the specific circumstanc - es, can most effectively prevent damage or inju - ries resulting from the product’s risk. However, this “voluntary” approach to determining the necessary measures must be viewed in the con - text of the Danish Safety Technology Authority’s ability to intervene and impose further measures if the commercial operator’s voluntary measures are deemed insufficient.
62
CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook