About the speaker

Dr. iur. Rita Simon, LL.M., is a senior researcher at the University of Palacký Olomouc at Department of International and European Law ,focusing on consumer protection and sustainable consumption from a comparative perspective. She studied law at ELTE in Budapest and holds a LL.M (2001) and a PhD (2005) degree in European Competition Law from the University of Cologne. She has held positions at several German institutions, including the Centre for European Integration Studies in Bonn and the Eastern Law Institute at the University of Cologne, and has served as an associate in the Bureau for Civil Law Codification at the Hungarian Ministry of Justice. From 2011 to 2021, she was employed at the Centre of Comparative Law at Charles University in Prague, and between 2017 and 2024 at the Institute of State and Law of the Czech Academy of Sciences. She is a member of the European Law Institute, IACL and SCORAI.

Abstract

Repair is increasingly recognized as a key enabler of the transition to a circular economy, alongside activities such as refurbishing, recycling and reusing. Despite this, the past two decades have seen Europe move steadily toward a throw-away society. Statistical evidence reveals a substantial decline in both the demand and supply of repair services of consumer products. This negative trend is especially evident in Eastern Europe, where the COVID-19 pandemic has further strained the repair sector.

Current literature actively debates the causes of the supply-side decline, citing factors such as limited access to spare parts, repair-unfriendly product design, intellectual property constraints, and cybersecurity concerns. On the demand side, issues like consumer convenience and cost are frequently discussed. However, little attention has been paid to the legal right of consumers to opt for product replacement in the event of defects - a remedy enshrined in both European and national legislation.

This paper argues that consumers’ preference for replacement over repair is a critical, yet underexplored, factor contributing to the decline in repair demand in Eastern Europe. This "replacement culture" is reinforced by voluntary business practices and the marginalization of repair within legal warranty frameworks - conditions permitted under the current legal regime. By examining these two structural barriers, rooted in Directive (EU) 2019/771 on consumer sales, the paper assesses whether the newly adopted Directive (EU) 2024/1799 on the repair of goods can effectively promote repair-oriented consumer behaviour in the Visegrad 4 countries.

This study contributes to the broader academic discourse on fostering circular consumption patterns, with a particular emphasis on the role of legal frameworks. 

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