Suspicion of Non-conformity as a Breach of Sales Contract in Comparative and Slovenian Law

Stvarne napake nujno ne izhajajo le iz fizičnih lastnosti stvari, ampak tudi iz pravnih in dejanskih razmerij med stvarmi in njihovim okoljem. Tako so za presojo ustreznosti prodajalčeve izpolnitve obveznosti iz prodajne pogodbe, tj. izročitve stvari brez stvarnih napak, pomembne tudi neotipljive lastnosti, kot npr. upoštevanje dobre proizvodne prakse, prisotnost ustreznih certifikatov tehnoloških proizvodov, organska in etična proizvodnja hrane (npr. halal) ali odsotnost morebitnih negativnih lastnosti stvari (npr. otroškega dela ali bakterijskih okužb hrane). Vsem primerom je skupno, da so nefizične lastnosti stvari enako, če ne celo bolj pomembne kot fizične lastnosti pri presoji uporabnosti stvari za njen običajen ali poseben pogodbeno dogovorjen namen. Zaradi pomembnosti vpliva zunanjih okoliščin na presojo ustreznosti stvari lahko že zgolj sum stvarne napake na predmetu prodaje onemogoča ali ovira uporabnost stvari za njen predviden namen (npr. onemogoča nadaljnjo prodajo), s tem pa predstavlja stvarno napako, za katero odgovarja prodajalec. Sum stvarne napake tako ni predhodnik stvarne napake, temveč je posebna vrsta stvarne napake. Časovna omejitev prodajalčeve odgovornosti za stvarne napake po eni strani vzpostavlja pravno varnost prodajalca, po drugi strani pa zmanjšuje pravice kupca. Ob pojavu suma stvarne napake, ki onemogoča uporabnost stvari za njen predviden namen, je pravična razdelitev odgovornosti za sum bistvenega pomena pri presoji, ali bo mogoče že zgolj sum šteti za stvarno napako, ki predstavlja kršitev prodajne pogodbe.Non-conformity of the goods does not arise only from physical features of the goods, but rather also from legal and factual relations of the goods to their surroundings. Therefore, the non-physical features of the goods, such as compliance with good manufacturing practice, the delivery of certificates of technological goods, organic and ethical food production (e.g., halal) or the absence of any negative features of the goods (e.g., child labour or bacterial food infections), play a vital role in assessing, whether the seller adequately performed its obligation under the contract to deliver conforming goods. All of the abovementioned examples have in common that non-physical features are just as important if not more important than physical features of the goods in determining, whether the goods conform to the usability for their ordinary or particular purpose. Due to the importance of the influence of external circumstances on the assessment of the conformity of the goods, the mere suspicion of a defect may prevent or impede the usability of the goods for their intended use (e.g., impeding their resaleability), thereby amounting to non-conformity of the goods for which the seller is liable. Suspicion of non-conformity is thus, not a predecessor of non-conformity, but forms a specific type of non-conformity. Temporal limitation of liability of the seller for the non-conformity of the goods establishes legal certainty for the seller on the one hand, while at the same time reduces the rights of the buyer to exercise its remedies. When a suspicion of non-conformity impedes the usability of the goods for their intended purpose, fair attribution of liability for the suspicion of a defect is essential to assess, whether the suspicion itself amounts to non-conformity and represents a breach of the sales contract