vero e falso nel prisma dei sistemi di diritto continentale

Vero e falso nel prisma dei sistemi di diritto continentale
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Capitolo I
VERO E FALSO NEL PRISMA DEI SISTEMI
DI DIRITTO CONTINENTALE
di ROBERTO CALVO
Sezione I
La disciplina sui vizi e difetti materiali
SOMMARIO: 1. Premessa. – 2. La nozione mista di vizio. – 3. La tipizzazione dei criteri di conformità. – 4.
La «presunzione» di conformità. – 5. La valutazione degli indici di conformità. – 6. L’accordo sulle
caratteristiche della res vendita. – 7. I patti volti a restringere le qualità ordinarie dei beni. – 8. Comportamento contraddittorio e consenso informato. – 9. L’invalidità della clausola che esclude
l’attitudine del bene a qualsivoglia utilizzo. – 10. Perizia del professionista ed esperienza del consumatore. – 11. La rilevanza del prezzo. – 12. La clausola legale d’esonero dalla responsabilità contrattuale. – 13. L’onere d’avvertimento gravante il professionista.
1. Premessa
La vendita di beni dell’arte in genere (e di strumenti ad arco in specie), è sottoposta alla disciplina, quanto ai difetti e rimedi, dettata dal codice del consumo là
dove il contratto sia stato perfezionato tra professionista e particulier 1. Quantunque possa sembrare una forzatura l’accostamento dell’opera artistica al comune
1
Si rammenti che ai sensi dell’art. 3, lett. a), c. cons., è consumatore la persona fisica che agisca per
scopi estranei all’attività imprenditoriale, commerciale, artigianale o professionale eventualmente svolta.
In pratica, il contratto è sottoposto alla disciplina del codice civile (art. 1490 ss.) qualora il violinista di
professione acquisti dal liutaio uno strumento da concerto. Si applicherà invece il codice del consumo
allorché il medesimo oggetto sia stato acquistato da chi faccia musica per diletto, dallo studente o dal
«privato» collezionista. Beninteso, ove la collezione sia, ad esempio, tenuta da una fondazione bancaria
occorrerà catalogare il rapporto negoziale nell’area delle vendite tra professionisti.
Roberto Calvo
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prodotto di massa, è fuori discussione che l’ampia nozione di «beni di consumo»
accolta dall’art. 128, comma 2°, c. cons., ha attratto entro l’orbita gravitazionale del
codice di «settore» i contratti di vendita, appalto e gli altri accordi finalizzati alla
fornitura di beni mobili da fabbricare o produrre. Il legislatore italiano non ha difatti sfruttato la facoltà prevista nell’art. 1, comma 3°, della direttiva 1999/44/Ce,
di escludere dalla nuova disciplina sulle vendite al consumo i «beni usati, venduti
in un’asta alla quale il consumatore abbia la possibilità di assistere personalmente» 2. Si badi però che ai sensi dell’art. 128, ult. comma, c. cons., le disposizioni sulle vendite al consumo «si applicano alle vendite di beni di consumo usati, tenuto
conto del tempo del pregresso utilizzo limitatamente ai difetti non derivanti
dall’uso normale della cosa».
2. La nozione mista di vizio
Ciò assodato, conviene primariamente osservare che ove le parti descrivano la
cosa non già come qualcosa di statico presente «qui» ed «ora», ma in quanto dotata di particolari caratteristiche vuoi di struttura e qualità, vuoi funzionali, assegnano di riflesso agli enunciati determinativi dell’oggetto gli attributi di elementi
integranti il contenuto dell’impegno contrattuale. Tali enunciati, più esattamente,
costituiscono il coltello intorno al cui asse oscilla il giogo della bilancia tra interessi
conflittuali emergenti nel giudizio in merito all’esatto adempimento della promessa di consegnare il bene conforme al programma negoziale 3.
La dottrina ottocentesca concepiva la nozione di vizio secondo criteri obiettivi,
che si concretavano nell’accertamento che l’oggetto fornito fosse privo delle qualità normalmente presenti nel genus; talché, la consegna di uno strumento musicale
di fabbrica ma inesattamente stimato di alta liuteria non avrebbe integrato gli estremi del vizio siccome il bene era provvisto degli ordinari caratteri che lo rendevano adatto all’utilizzo orchestrale 4.
A parere dell’interpretazione oggettiva, l’assenza di qualità o pregi dall’acqui-
2
Sulla nozione di asta pubblica si è pronunciato il Bundesgerichtshof con la sentenza del 9 novembre
2005, in Neue jur. Wochenschr., 2005, p. 613 ss.
3
Il fondamentale nesso intercorrente tra l’abbandono della dottrina postulante la nozione psicologica di errore ed il corrispondente superamento del concetto rigidamente oggettivo di vizio è scandito
con nettezza da FLUME, Eigenschaftsirrtum und Kauf (1948), Darmstadt, 1975 (rist.), p. 9 (nella premessa alla ristampa del 1975); ID., Allgemeiner Teil des bürgerlichen Rechts, 2: Das Rechtsgeschäfts, 4. Aufl.,
Berlin-Heidelberg-New York, 1992, p. 477.
4
Entscheidungen des Reichtsgerichts in Zivilsachen (RGZ) 97, p. 351 ss.
Vero e falso nel prisma dei sistemi di diritto continentale
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rente (inesattamente) presupposti, sì da indurlo ad allacciare il vincolo, ma che
non impedivano l’usuale funzione del bene, si sostanziava in una vicenda la quale
era estranea alla nozione di vizio redibitorio (ex art. 1490, comma 1°, c.c.). Per tale
ragione, la consegna di uno strumento di fila anziché da solista non autorizzava il
compratore ad avvalersi dei rimedi edilizi (risoluzione del contratto o riduzione
del corrispettivo) giacché la discordanza tra valore e prezzo non era fonte generatrice di vizi occulti 5. Al più – si diceva – l’assenza degli elementi qualitativi, destinati ad incidere sul valore del bene ma incapaci di comprometterne il normale utilizzo, assumeva giuridico significato solo quando il venditore avesse preso su di sé
il relativo rischio tramite la garanzia convenzionale 6. Ciò, a fortiori, dimostrava che
le qualità immaginate dal compratore in vista della destinazione atipica da imprimere alla cosa, essendo irrilevanti per l’individuazione del genere, sarebbero
senz’altro fuoriuscite dai confini delimitanti il vizio 7.
Tali rilievi simboleggiano il pendant della teoria segregante nell’area dei motivi
irrilevanti ogni rappresentazione dei contraenti riverberantesi sulle qualità della
cosa scambiata: l’antedetta elaborazione psicologica viene considerata ininfluente
perché il vitium, involgendo la sola natura rei, è un «fattore puramente obiettivo» 8. Ergo, l’errata rappresentazione intorno alle qualità non costituirebbe né errore né vizio redibitorio.
Sennonché, lo stato delle cose era fatalmente destinato a mutare. Com’è facilmente intuibile, il superamento delle tesi ruotanti attorno alla dottrina psicologica
dell’errore agevolò l’approdo alla nozione soggettiva di vizio. Quest’ultima, forte
dell’argomento letterale e razional-sistematico 9, si è fatta carico dell’esigenza di
dare rilevanza a tutte le caratteristiche concordate, quantunque fattori produttivi
di valore (wertbildenden Faktoren) non essenziali ai fini della determinazione del
genus.
Il ragionamento impostato avvalendoci delle direttrici appena descritte porta al
corollario che le qualità della cosa tenute in considerazione dagli stipulanti nella
formazione del consenso finiscono con l’integrare l’intesa, avendo l’alienante
promesso di fornire la cosa corrispondente al sottostante programma obbligatorio.
5
HAYMANN, Fehler und Zusicherung beim Kauf, in Die Reichsgerichtspraxis im deutschen Rechtsleben,
Festgabe der juristischen Fakultäten zum 50jährigen Bestehen des Reichsgerichts (I. Oktober 1929), III, Berlin-Leipzig, 1929, p. 317.
6
HAYMANN, op. cit., p. 318.
7
HAYMANN, op. cit., p. 320.
8
HAYMANN, op. cit., p. 338.
9
Cfr. WOGATZKY, Wandlung und Minderung bei einer Mehrheit von Käufern oder Verkäufern, Hamburg, 1931, p. 53.
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Succede allora che ai fini del verdetto di simmetria tra l’essere (Istbeschaffenheit) e il dover essere (Sollbeschaffenheit) diventa imprescindibile la comparazione
del bene reale con quello effettivamente pattuito 10. Da qui la tendenziale irrilevanza (o meglio, la non esclusività), sussistendo lo specifico accordo sulle qualità,
del raffronto con i normali (o usuali) elementi distintivi del genere. Intendendo
richiamare rapidamente considerazioni già esposte, accade così che la dazione di
un violino di fila anziché di un esemplare da solista rappresenti la «controfigura»
(recte: Anderssein) della cosa scambiata. Lo dimostra il rilievo che la cosa appartenente al genere negoziato, pur essendo priva di vizi corporali, non è invero dotata
delle qualità descritte e destinate a ripercuotersi sul suo valore di mercato 11.
L’interpretazione soggettiva – la quale, a tacer d’altro, contribuì ad accrescere il
perimetro dell’autonomia privata siccome accentuò il peso della volontà nell’elaborazione del metro di misura dell’esatto adempimento rappresentato dal «dover
essere» della cosa scambiata 12 – assegna alla nozione di vizio un’assai ampia portata sino al punto da abbracciare la categoria della dazione di cosa diversa o aliud
pro alio (recte: Quälitats-aliud) 13. Da qui la dilatazione dell’àmbito d’applicazione
della disciplina relativa al vizio redibitorio 14. Per convincersene basti porre mente
al fatto che, partendo dalla premessa secondo cui v’è discrasia tra dato e dovuto
(Anderssein) ove il compratore fornisca un bene difforme, è percettibile l’inadempimento rilevante non solo qualora la cosa sia materialmente viziata, ma anche se
risulti inidonea all’impiego previsto o appartenga ad un altro genere 15.
Ciò non toglie che uno spazio autonomo debba essere riconosciuto, nella vendita di cosa specifica, all’Identitäts-aliud, che si ha quando – volendo proporre in
esempio – in luogo di consegnare il violino n. 60 di Oddone l’antiquario Sempronio consegni al compratore Mevio il violino n. 101 del medesimo autore: il genere
limitato è identico, ciò che muta è la specie concordemente individuata. Sembra in
proposito difficile scorgere, seppure in chiave soggettiva, gli estremi del vizio trat-
10
FLUME, Eigenschaftsirrtum und Kauf, cit., spec. p. 118 s.
FLUME, op. ult. cit., p. 120 s. Per quanto concerne il diritto giudiziale è d’obbligo rinviare al revirement inaugurato dalla magistratura germanica con il noto caso Ruisdael (v. amplius CALVO, Vendita e
responsabilità per vizi materiali, I, Dai fondamenti storico-comparativi alla disciplina codicistica sulle garanzie, Napoli, 2007, p. 41 ss.).
12
ESSER e WEYERS, Schuldrecht, II, Besonderer Teil, 6. Aufl., Heidelberg, 1984, p. 32.
13
Ed è per questa ragione che si può a ragione parlare di nozione omnibus di vizio.
14
FLUME, Eigenschaftsirrtum und Kauf, cit., p. 119.
15
FLUME, op. ult. cit., p. 118; MEDICUS, Bürgerliches Recht, 18. Aufl., Köln-Berlin-Bonn-München,
1999, p. 231; REINICKE e TIEDTKE, Kaufrecht, 6. Aufl., Neuwied-Kriftel-Berlin, 1997, p. 112; WALTER,
Kaufrecht, Tübingen, 1987, p. 141.
11
Vero e falso nel prisma dei sistemi di diritto continentale
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tandosi francamente di un inadempimento puro e semplice, attratto dal diritto
comune (artt. 1453 ss. c.c.) 16. L’assimilazione dell’aliud al peius non è dunque illimitata 17.
Si rammenti che la teoria oggettiva non può essere del tutto abbandonata perché mantiene la propria vocazione a indirizzare l’interprete, sebbene in via graduata, allorché le parti non abbiano concordato alcuna particolare caratteristica – né
corporale né funzionale – del bene trattato. In questo scenario illustrativo la comparazione tra dato (Istbeschaffenheit) e dovuto (Sollbeschaffenheit) va difatti attuata
sfruttando il «sestante» offerto dalle comuni qualità connotanti il genus (o subgenus) al quale appartiene l’oggetto, sempre che non siano ravvisabili i presupposti
per l’applicazione del superiore parametro soggettivo 18.
Il legislatore si è avvalso della tipicità causale – che viene adesso in gioco siccome l’oggettività del giudizio di conformità o difformità stempera il rilievo normalmente attribuito alla ragion pratica dello scambio – mosso dall’obiettivo di
conferire all’acquirente una tutela minimale nei casi in cui il fine empirico (o
l’intento sostanziale) non abbia inciso sul fondamento del rapporto sino a rilevare
quale «“presupposizione” contrattuale» 19.
Tirando le somme, i nostri occhi sono oramai allenati a distinguere la sagoma
della nozione mista di vizio soggettivo-oggettiva 20, la quale si snoda attraverso le
direttrici così compendiabili: le clausole del regolamento d’interessi privati costituiscono il primo livello ordinante la modulazione gerarchica dei criteri di misura
della conformità; al di sotto di esso si piazza il canone di giudizio ancorato alla categoria merceologica. In altre parole, il contratto dà impulso al criterio soggettivo,
il genus a quello oggettivo 21; dal concorso di questi indici ci accorgiamo che a fian16
REINICKE e TIEDTKE, Kaufrecht, cit., p. 112 s.; THIER, Aliud– und Minus-Lieferung im neuen Kaufrecht des Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuches, in Arch. civ. Praxis, 203 (2003), p. 403 ss.; WALTER, Kaufrecht, cit., p.
141 s. LARENZ, Lehrbuch des Schuldrechts, II, 1, Besonderer Teil, 13. Aufl., München, 1986, p. 41, preferisce al riguardo parlare di Falschlieferung; v. anche BÄHLER, Das Verhältnis von Sachgewährleistungs– und
allgemeinem Leistungsstörungsrecht, Basel, 2005, p. 192 s.; SCHLECHTRIEM, Schuldrecht, Besonderer Teil, 5.
Aufl., Tübingen, 1998, p. 40.
17
THIER, op. cit., p. 407.
18
Cosicché, affiora il vizio quando l’acquirente di orologio a sveglia lamenti fondatamente il difettoso funzionamento del meccanismo d’allarme: cfr. FLUME, Eigenschaftsirrtum und Kauf, cit., p. 129.
19
WESTERMANN, Die causa im französischen und deutschen Zivilrecht, Berlin, 1967, p. 93.
20
FIKENTSCHER, Schuldrecht, 9. Aufl., Berlin-New York, 1997, p. 436; KIRCHER, Die Voraussetzungen
der Sachmängelhaftung beim Warenkauf, Tübingen, 1998, p. 9; WESTERMANN, op. ult. cit., p. 150. Si tratta
di una nozione normalmente applicata dai nostri giudici in tema di appalto: v. Cass., 25 gennaio 2002, n.
886, in Giust. civ., 2003, I, p. 2245 ss., spec. p. 2246 s.
21
FIKENTSCHER, op. loc .cit.; v. anche BERGERFURTH e MENARD, Das Kaufrecht, 3. Aufl., Freiburg im
Breisgau, 1984, p. 196.
Roberto Calvo
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co della nozione mista di causa si fa avanti l’analoga nozione mista di vizio, in considerazione dello stretto legame – appena abbozzato – intercorrente tra causa,
scopo (Vertragszweck) e inadempimento 22.
3. La tipizzazione dei criteri di conformità
In fatto di nozione mista soggettivo-oggettiva i redattori della direttiva
1999/44/Ce trassero ispirazione dall’art. 35 della convenzione di Vienna sulla
vendita internazionale di beni mobili. Ne discende che l’esperienza maturata
nell’applicazione del precitato art. 35 offre un imprescindibile punto di riferimento ai fini della corretta applicazione degli artt. 2 della fonte comunitaria e 129 c.
cons. 23, i quali delineano i tratti della norma-cardine attorno alla quale gravita
l’intera disciplina sulle vendite al consumo, negli stessi termini in cui il precitato
art. 35 raffigura il caposaldo della legge uniforme sul fronte della responsabilità per
vizi materiali 24.
La nozione di difetto di conformità svolge un ruolo d’uniformazione la cui intensità è tale da contenere tanto il vizio corporale, quanto il difetto di qualità e la
consegna di cosa non idonea all’uso, perché in tutte queste ipotesi è possibile sostenere che l’oggetto aliud pro alio venisse videtur 25. Si è così giunti alla sostanziale
22
WESTERMANN, Die causa im französischen und deutschen Zivilrecht, cit., p. 152.
Cfr. M. BIN, Per un dialogo con il futuro legislatore dell’attuazione: ripensare l’intera disciplina della
non conformità dei beni nella vendita alla luce della direttiva comunitaria, in Contr. impr. Europa, 2000, p.
405; SCHWENZER, sub art. 35, in P. SCHLECHTRIEM (Hrsg.), Kommentar zum Einheitlichen UNKaufrecht, 3. Aufl., München, 2000, p. 375, note 16a e 21; STAUDENMAYER, EC-Richtlinie 1999/44/EG
zur Vereinheitlichung des Kaufgewährleistungsrechts, in GRUNDMANN, MEDICUS e ROLLAND (Hrsg.), Europäisches Kaufgewährleistungsrecht, Köln-Berlin-Bonn-München, 2000, p. 34; TONNER, Verbrauchsgüterkauf – Richtlinie und Europäisierung des Zivilrechts, in Betriebs-Ber., 1999, p. 1770.
24
DE LA IGLESIA MONJE, El principio de conformidad del contrato en la compraventa internacional de
mercaderías, Madrid, 2001, p. 60 ss.; U. MAGNUS, sub art. 35, in VON STAUDINGERS, Kommentar zum
Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuch mit Einführungsgesetz und Nebengesetzen, Wiener UN-Kaufrecht (CIGS), Berlin,
1999, p. 315; ID., sub art. 35, in HONSELL (Hrsg.), Kommentar zum UN-Kaufrecht, Berlin-New York,
1997, p. 393; ZIEGEL, Report to the Uniform Law Conference of Canada on Convention on Contracts for the
International Sale of Goods (1981), sub art. 35, in GISG Database. Tale nozione non rappresenta una novità per il diritto italiano essendo utilizzata dalla giurisprudenza in materia d’appalto: cfr. Cass., 25 gennaio 2002, n. 886, cit. supra, nota 20. I presupposti soggettivi e oggettivi per l’applicazione della disciplina sulle vendite al consumo sono descritti nell’art. 129 c. cons.: su questo argomento sia consentito rinviare a CALVO, I contratti del consumatore, in Tratt. dir. comm. e dir. pubbl. dell’economia, diretto da Galgano, XXXIV, Padova, 2005, cap. VI.
25
D., 18, 1, 9, 2.
23
Vero e falso nel prisma dei sistemi di diritto continentale
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equiparazione tra divergenza qualitativa (Quälitats-aliud o Schlechtlieferung) e res
difettosa. Uno spazio autonomo occorre invece ritagliare, nella vendita di cosa determinata, alla dazione di una cosa diversa da quella individuata (Identitätsabweichung), che – come si è già avuto occasione d’osservare – sottostà alla disciplina
sull’inadempimento ex artt. 1453 ss. c.c. A supporto del tratteggiato distinguo è
utile porre l’accento sul fatto che la nuova disciplina informante di sé il «sottotipo» non solo non è d’ostacolo all’applicazione delle regole – in quanto compatibili – plasmanti il soprastante tipo contrattuale, ma negli stessi termini presuppone
la disciplina di diritto comune valendo qui il principio di specialità 26.
Eppure l’art. 129, comma 2°, c. cons., costituisce un peggioramento del modello ispiratore. Basti osservare che il legislatore nazionale introduce un elenco di criteri (ritenuti dai più non tassativi 27, sebbene pressoché esaustivi 28), da utilizzare
nel giudizio di ponderazione dell’esatto adempimento dell’obbligazione di conformità, ordinati alla rinfusa in antitesi al principio di gerarchia consolidatosi
nell’esperienza giuridica tedesca e nei sistemi di common law.
Difatti, mentre la lett. a) dell’art. 129, comma 2°, c. cons., applica la nozione
oggettiva di vizio 29, qualificata dall’uso standard del bene e dalle sue ordinarie qualità, nella lett. d) pare inequivocabile l’allusione alla nozione soggettiva che
s’inserisce nel regolamento contrattuale grazie all’accordo sull’utilizzo particolare
in distacco dall’anzidetto criterio di abitualità 30.
26
Cfr. DE NOVA, La scelta sistematica del legislatore italiano, in AA.VV., L’acquisto di beni di consumo,
Milano, 2002, p. 6; ID., La disciplina della vendita dei beni di consumo nel “Codice” del consumo, in Contratti, 2006, p. 391; LUMINOSO, Chiose in chiaroscuro in margine al d. legisl. n. 24 del 2002, in M. BIN e LUMINOSO, Le garanzie nella vendita dei beni di consumo, in Tratt. dir. comm. e dir. pubbl. dell’economia, diretto
da Galgano, XXXI, Padova, 2003, p. 17 ss.; v. inoltre E. GABRIELLI, Aspettative del consumatore, tutela del
mercato e adempimento nella vendita di beni di consumo, in Giust. civ., 2005, II, p. 4, il quale specifica che
«Rispetto al tipo principale, infatti, si instaura un rapporto da contenente a contenuto, dato che, per un
verso, la vendita di beni di consumo ha un’elasticità minore di quella del tipo negoziale, in quanto vi si
rinvengono aspetti essenziali del tipo, ma integrati da altri elementi “extra-tipici” che la legge considera e
disciplina nella configurazione del sottotipo».
27
CARRASCO PERERA, Nichterfüllung, Pflichtverletzung und Schlechterfüllung im Vertragsrecht. Ein spanischer und europäischer Ansatz, in Zeitschr. Europ. Privatrecht, 2006, p. 560; WATTERSON, Consumer
Sales Directive 1999/44/EC – The impact on English law, in Eur. Rev. Priv. L., 2001, p. 211.
28
Conf. STAUDENMAYER, The Directive on the Sale of Consumer Goods and Associated Guarantees – a
Milestone in the European Consumer and Private Law, in Eur. Rev. Priv. L., 2000, p. 551.
29
Tal nozione, come osserva GRUNEWALD, Kaufrecht, Tübingen, 2006, p. 116 s., trasforma in norma
positiva la regola di giudizio saldata all’interpretazione integrativa del regolamento negoziale.
30
BERGER, Der Beschaffenheitsbegriff des § 434 Abs. 1 BGB, in Juristenzeitung, 2004, p. 276; MALZER,
Die Haftung für Sach– und Rechtsmängel, I, Grundlagen und Voraussetzungen, in HOEREN e MARTINEK
(Hrsg.), Systematischer Kommentar zum Kaufrecht, Recklinghausen, 2002, p. 147; MARTINEK, Das neue
Kaufvertragsrecht im System des BGB, ivi, p. 37.
True and false in the prism of continental law systems (Abstract)
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Chapter I
TRUE AND FALSE IN THE PRISM
OF CONTINENTAL LAW SYSTEMS
(Abstract)
by ROBERTO CALVO
The writing of Roberto Calvo, divided into four sections, treats about the purchase of works of art – especially of violin-making – in all cases where there is a
pathological situation, such as falsification of artistic goods, or at least the mismatch between «the sold» and «the promised». The study provides a constant
dialogue with the issue of liability for material defects in Italian law: that in order
to ascertain how it is applied to the specific field of art trade the contents of a general legal framework, which, on the one hand, has a rich cultural substratum centuries-old, but which also, on the other side – through the recent European law –
gives rules protecting the buyer that became common to several Member States.
This type of sales, in fact, is in Italy subjected to the discipline dictated by the
Consumer Code, implementing Directive 44/99/EC, provided that the contract
was perfected between a professional seller and a consumer. If these subjective requirements are lacking, will be rather applicable the general italian law of sale’s
guaranties, contained in articles 1490 ss. Civil Code.
Section I
The regulation on material defects
That said, the first section of the writing recalls that the cultural tradition of the
nineteenth century, – from the reworking of Roman law made by the studies of
Pandects – has known two conceptions of vice. Both are drawn together in the
italian civil code, so that exists a «mixed-concept» of the same.
The first reconstruction, more radical, conceives a notion of vice following criteria strictly objective: these consist in investigating whether the sold object is de-
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Roberto Calvo
void of average quality normally found in goods of the same genus. Therefore are
irrelevant all the qualities imagined from the buyer in order to allocate the good to
a particular use, id est different than the usual one. This rule is also reasoned on the
basis of the assessment that the representation of a part about other uses should be
ascribed to the «subjective motivations» – usually insignificant in civil italian
law– of the exchange. Radicals are the consequences in the art market. On this
view, for example, the delivery of a normal musical instrument – but sold as a
product of high violin-making – would not involve the presence of a defect: this
would be the result because the good would be still well endowed with the ordinary characters of his kind of belonging. Similar would be the solution in case of
delivery of a instrument «row» instead of a soloist one.
This concept of vice is identified in art. 1490 Civil Code paragraph 1, where we
read that «the seller must ensure that the thing sold is free from defects which
would render it unsuitable for the uses to which it is intended or decrease their value».
The second theory of vice is instead «subjective». According to this one,
should be given great importance to all of the features personally agreed, even
thought these are outside of the criteria that determine the typical genus of the
good sold. Therefore must be guarantied by the vendor all the qualities which
have been considered by the contractual parties in concluding the contract. A
good may also correspond to the genus average but, however, if it lacks of an additional requirement (that is negotiated in the individual agreement), it will still be
considered as «flawed» in the subjective sense. The defect then takes the meaning
of «breach of a specific clause». From here, in the art market are detectable solutions opposed to earlier: it will be considered as «vitiated» the sale of a violin in a
row instead of a soloist, although both instruments are functioning and belong to
the same category. This concept can be found in art. 1497 Civil Code, which provides, in addition to the essential qualities, the relevancy of the «quality promised».
Therefore, in summary, it must be said that the terms of each exchange are the
first test about the presence of vice; below (or in absence) of which, it remains the
control of the medium standard.
It is shown that even the compilers of directive 1999/44/EC have embraced
the subjective-objective notion of vice, drawing also inspiration from art. 35 of the
Vienna Convention on the international sale of movable goods. It is introduced
through the European law the concept of «lack of conformity», which is so broad
as to contain the physical defect, the delivery of something not suitable for typical
use (art. 1490 Civil Code), and the lack of quality promised or essential (art. 1497
Civil Code). As proof of this, it must be considered the various criteria – assessed
as not exhaustive – contained in art. 129 paragraph 2 Consumer Code, through
which the judge has to test the «conformity» of the good.
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Analyzing the above provision, has introduced an objective element the section
a) (“are fit for the purposes for which goods of the same type are normally used”). Instead are detectable subjective elements into the section b) («comply with the description given by the seller and possess the qualities of the goods which the seller has
held out to the consumer as a sample or model») and into section d) («are fit for any
particular purpose for which the consumer requires them and which he made known to
the seller at the time of conclusion of the contract and which the seller has accepted”).
However, we should also point out that the section b), referring to the «description given by the seller», assumes that would be introduced into the negotiation
something new in comparison with the normal characteristics of the good. But if
both the description and the model or sample are abundant – because the description and the model are only giving reference to the standard type of good – seems to
be relevant an objective notion of vice, regulated under the provision of section a).
Similarly, it is detectable the admixture of subjective and objective criteria in
section c) («show the quality and performance which are normal in goods of the same
type and which the consumer can reasonably expect, given the nature of the goods and
taking into account any public statements on the specific characteristics of the goods
made about them by the seller, the producer or his representative, particularly in advertising or on labelling»). And seems to be outside of the guidelines of European directive the case of the sale of a specific good, where it is given a thing totally different. In this case it is preferred that operates the contractual liability for breach of
contract provided under art. 1453 Civil Code.
Conducted these assessments, follows the investigation of the rule contained in
the initial period of the art. 129, comma 2 ° Consumer Code, which introduces a
«presumption of conformity» of the good, provided that the thing complies the
circumstances contained in the already described sections a), b) c), d).
It is believed that the term «presumption» was used by the legislator in a sense
not technical and not systematically exact. In fact, in italian law, under art. 2727
Civil Code, the presumption is a type of proving, that indicates the deduction of a
«fact uncertain» from a «fact certain» or already proven. The problem is that the
«conformity» of a good can not be considered as a human «fact» (non completely proven and therefore deductible). The conformity is instead a valuejudgment on the good, judgments that, by the way, is reconstructed by the parameters directly contained in european law (id est according to the sections a),
b), c), d) art. 129 paragraph 2 Consumer Code). Therefore it is better to read the
provision in the Code of consumption in the sense that the word «presumption»
simply provides a rule on the burden of proof: it means that, given the requirements contained in the sections a) b) c) d) (which have to be proved by the vendor), lies on the purchaser the duty to demonstrate the dissonance between good
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required and good sold. This solution is also considered equivalent to the italian
rule on the burden of proof for breach of contract, as it has been crystallized in the
jurisprudence of the United Sections of Cassation (namely into a well-known decision held in 2001).
Different are instead the assessments about the art. 132, paragraph 3 Consumer Code, whereby it is provided that, if the lack of conformity becomes apparent within six months after delivery, it is presumed that it has existed on that date
of delivery. This rule, by contrast, is considered an authentic expression of a presumption. Without this rule, in fact, the buyer would have the burden to prove
that the cause of the defect was prior to the delivery; in every case when the presumption can not operate (e.g. after the course of six months), the consumer is always entitled to prove the previous existence of the alleged defect. However, it
must also be noticed that it is generally difficult for buyers to find the real cause of
the malfunction. Therefore is suggested a regulatory reform that – just on the basis of the consumers protection principle – would extend the presumption for all
the legal duration of the warranty (id est for all the period provided in art. 132,
paragraph 1°, Consumer Code).
Reached this point, it is time to return on discussing the pair of concepts revolving around the notion of mixed defect, taking again examination of the list of
criteria (now subjective, now objective, now mixed) contained in the sections a),
b), c), d), of art. 129. Consumer Code The problem is that those criteria are given
the «bulk», and they don’t follow the logical order above mentioned (and credited by cultural legal tradition): namely should be evaluated at first the presence of
a subjective vice and later – but only de residuo – of the defect intended in a objective sense.
The necessity of this sequence (first subjective sense of the vice and after objective) is argued taking into account specific factors of comparative law: for example, is considered the interpretation offered to the original text of § 459 BGB,
after the famous case «Ruisdael» held in 1932; it is assessed the still dominant interpretation of the above mentioned art. 35, paragraph 2°, of the Vienna Convention (however modelled on German law); then have to be remembered an italian
case law opinion about art. 1668, paragraph 2, Civil Code (not in contracts of sale
but of locatio operis): the concept of vice concerns a mixed criterion (subjectiveobjective), but the italian courts have stated that the objective concept is subsidiary to the individual stipulations of the contractual parties.
After these considerations, follows a specific analysis about the agreement inherent characteristics and qualities of the good (agreement which is considered
operating also for facta concludentia). It is specified that, under art. 129, paragraph
2, section d) Consumer Code, the negotiation about a specific use of the good in-
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77
troduces implicitly in the contract a clause, that defines the perimeter of the obligation of conformity. On this ridge, then, the contractual parties are generally free
to narrow the concept of conformity than the ordinary qualities of the sold goods.
This means that the seller shall not be liable if the thing does not comply with ordinary use, but is only appropriate to the specific use that has been negotiated.
Suppose, for instance into the art market, the case of sale a mandolin, which is sold
under the agreement of the specific use of furnishings, namely just to decorate
furniture. Or suppose the case that the vendor sells a guitar, not as an instrument
for the music (the typical destination), but as an object of design (atypical purpose). Obviously the seller will have the duty to demonstrate that there is an
agreement about that specific use, but the buyer can not sue the vendor complaining that the instrument does not sound.
It is then argued that this kind of agreements are intended to define the object
of the contract. Therefore these clauses are not considered invalid under art. 134,
paragraph 1, Consumer Code, that provides that have no effect the clauses which
limit or exclude, even indirectly, the liability for the breach of obligations owed by
the seller (agreements of this type – that are invalid – are instead found in the
clauses «commodity viewed and pleasured» and in those clause in which the professional seller says that he will not be liable for the efficiency of the thing transferred).
The alleged importance of the principle of contractual autonomy, for the same
reason, is not considered as an absolute rule. It is affirmed for instance the invalidity of a contractual term by which the seller at first declares that the good offered
has specific features and, later, that he will respond only in case of absence of the
usual quality. This kind of agreement, in addition to incurring into the limitations
contained in art. 134 Consumer Code, ignores also the prohibition of venire contra
factum proprium.
Secondly, it must be reaffirmed the importance of the principle of transparency: the specific use (or the quality promised) of the good must be clear to the
consumer, so that should be created a sort of «informed consent» of him. Otherwise (assuming that the buyer complains about the lack of adherence of the good
to its typical purpose) it is not opposable by the seller the compliance of the good
to the negotiated use.
Follows the investigation of the clause – sometimes practiced – through which
the vendor certifies that the good sold is unsuitable for any type of use. According
to a first reconstruction, could be argued under art. 129, paragraph 3 Consumer
Code that the clause is completely legal, because it makes the consumer wellinformed of the defect of the thing. However is considered preferable an opposite
interpretation, so that the pact should be evaluated with the measures of good
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faith (intended in objective sense) and – again – of the principle of nemo venire
contra factum proprium potest. From here, it is affirmed the invalidity of the clause,
in every case when this is negotiated just for the purpose of circumventing the
duty of warranty: this happens, for example, into a negotiation in which the vendor has indicated with a reasonable level of certainty that the good have their own
specific characteristics, the same features which then are expressly negated by the
exclusion clause. Thus, into the art market, must be declared invalid the disclaimer
clause about authorship, but only every time when the negotiation has been developed under the assertion of the sure originality of the artistic good.
But this valuation does not obviously exclude that – even in a part of the art
market – a sale of goods can be concluded without a parties agreement for any
particular purpose of the thing. In this case the defect will be judged in an objective sense, namely under the provision of art. 129, paragraph 2, section a) Consumer Code (consider the case of a viola that produces an intermittent sound and,
therefore, partially different from the typical one of those kind of bow instruments).
In any case, the beating heart of the (promised or essential) qualities is gathered in the principle of reliance and in the allocation of the duty of information.
The application of the rule of disclosure must then be graduated according to the
skills and the capabilities of any contractual party. In the art market, generally, the
buyer relies on the ability of a professional seller. The vendor, by the first side, is
able to assess the qualities, the authorship and the value of the good sold; by the
other side – when during the negotiations he reaches the awareness of noncompliance of the thing to what is wanted by the buyer – he is binded by the duty
of good faith to enlighten the buyer. This typical situation does not exclude the
different case when the purchaser has a wealth of scientific and technical knowledge greater than the seller (as may happen e.g. when the buyer of a violin is an accredited expert in violin making). In this other hypothesis, then, is not conceivable
a direct liability for reliance on the allegations of the trader.
In either case, it must be distinguee if the vendor has guaranteed the originality
of the good in terms of absolute certainty or only of mere probability (e.g. if it is
said that the violin is only «almost certainly» a Stradivarius). This clarification is
very important, because the incomplete belief around a certain quality is not good
enough to create a full expectation on the part recipient of the message and, consequently, to make an assumption of full responsibility of the seller.
Then continues the analysis of the principle of reliance, arguing about a dogmatic question of long course (hinting the hope that it can be resolved in a positive
way by the case law). In particular, the issue is if the confidence of the buyer about a
specific feature (or even about a quality medium-objective) of the good sold may be
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deducted taking account into the value of highest price requested and paid.
In particular the rule contained in art. 2, paragraph 2, section d) of the first
Proposal of Directive, established that the assessment of compliance would also
have been accomplished by evaluating the price of the good. However, the final
text of the directive – such as the italian internal rules of implementation – has
formally abandoned any mention of that criterion. Secondly does not exist in italian law the principle of «economic equivalence» between the performances of
contract. The parties are completely free to determine the value of the good sold.
However, it is stated that this principle does not rule out that the comparison
between market value and price paid may be an indication of measurement of reliance of the buyer. This happens because, in the presence of a price reduced than
the current one, a «naturalistic argument» and the principle of reasonableness are
suggesting that the buyer generally expects a lower quality. Similarly, in the case of
the highest price, the expectation is in the sense of a product of excellent quality.
The connection is quite normally exact in the art market. So if is bought an expensive violin, it is reasonable to infer that the agreement to pay a high price identifies
the buyer’s confidence that it is truly ancient; similarly, if is bought a trinket of
jewellery with a small sum, it can not be created a sensible expectation that this is a
precious stone.
The rule is not absolute, because it may happen that there is a detachment between price and qualities, on the basis of other economical factors: consider for
instance the macroeconomic case of competition between multinational companies, some of which operate dumping strategies in certain markets: therefore they
offer their products, in some places and in some times, at a lower prices; consider
also the microeconomic case of a traders who sells at a below cost, just to clear the
warehouse from the stocks.
Concluded this theme, the analysis proceeds with the examination of art. 129,
paragraph 3 ° Consumer Code, which states that «there is no lack of conformity if
at the time of conclusion of the contract, the consumer was aware, or could not
reasonably be unaware» with ordinary care. Therefore the vice is still subsisting,
but the buyer has no protection because of its visibility. This is because it is presumed that the buyer has really wanted to receive the good in the same conditions
in which it is appeared; however it is burden of the seller to prove that circumstance (because any contractual clauses, which reverses the burden of proof, is
held as invalid in accordance with art. 134 Consumer Code).
The rule refers to the inexcusable error of the buyer according to the meter of
the ordinary diligence: it should be noted that the consumer is not required, always and generally, to carry out very complex investigations (involving perhaps
the help of experts). However, it is suggested that the standard of care, interpreted
4.
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teleologically by the principle of reasonableness, should indicate an effort by the
buyer that varies in dependence of the type of purchased good: this is because, depending on the specific market sector, changes also the normal degree of shrewdness that is practiced by actors in trade. With such reasoning, therefore, into the
art market, the threshold of attention usually required to the buyer is generally
higher than the awareness necessary for any other commodity or consumer good.
This is because, as more is refined the quality or the importance of the good negotiated, so more significant is considered the burden of care that the consumers will
be obliged to observe.
Then it is affirmed that the provisions of art. 129, paragraph 3 Consumer Code
assumes that the sale is negotiated «on sight», because it is fundamental for the
application of the above mentioned rule that the buyer is been placed in condition
to perceive the defects of the goods at the time of transfer of ownership. The consumer, before reaching an agreement, has not a duty to inspect the goods, but only
by the moment of the negotiation he has the burden to examine it. Therefore
there can not be found an «inexcusable error» of the buyer if he examines not
closely enough the things displayed in a shop window, or the image of the good
contained in billboards. Instead is occurred an inexcusable error when the purchaser is physically in contact with the good sold and, nevertheless, he has not detected the defect.
These refinements also lead to exclude that the provisions of art. 129, paragraph 3 Consumer Code is applicable to the sale of a generic things ex art. 1378
Civil Code, to the sale of a future good and to the sale of goods packaged at the
time of the negotiation.
That said, the first section of the paper is closing treating about the last part of
art. 129, paragraph 3 Consumer Code, that extends the disclaim of the seller to the
hypothesis that the defect are resulting from «instructions or materials supplied
by the consumer».
This statutory provision – that has the ultimate aim of discharge of the vendor
– does not exclude the application of the principle of good faith, even against the
vendor himself: under the good faith principle, the seller is obliged to take all precautions necessary to protect the interest of the counterparty. Therefore, the seller
shall be liable when the defect of the materials or the mistake of the instructions
coming from consumer were recognizable by a diligent professional vendor and
nonetheless he has not informed the unsuspecting buyer. This duty of information
– as well as the common law suggests – will be considered more intense as more
large is the distance between a seller particularly experienced and a buyer very unprepared.
The same rule is then detectable in italian law into the provision of art. 1663
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81
Civil Code (about locatio operis): the supply by the developer (or by a third party
that he has specially indicated) of all the assets required for the execution does not
release the contractor from the burden of testing their fitness to obtain the final
asked result.
Section II
The delivery of «aliud pro alio»
The second section treats about the case law institute of «aliud pro alio». Particularly the buyer, in case of a defective sale, sometimes invokes the general rules
of default and of breach of contract ex art. 1453 Civil Code, instead of asking for
the application of specific discipline of warranty for defects. This is because, outside of sales of consumer protected by the Directive 44/99/CE, italian law provides into art 1494 Civil Code strict terms of limitation and prescription of the action. Where they are already passed, the buyer then submits that the distance between the good requested and the good obtained is so extensive that will not be
delivered a flawed thing – but still belonging to the same genus – but a good completely different from the negotiated one (so called aliud pro alio datum). Then
the action will be taken for breach of contract and not for guarantee. And the limitation period of this action will be longer, namely of ten year.
In consumer sales, however, the art. 132 Consumer Code provides longer
terms of limitation or prescription, so that it is in practice very difficult that the
buyer can not exercise the actions that he may have in case of sale of goods in notconformity. Secondly, the notion of «lack of conformity» is indented to be larger
than the original concept of «vice»: thus the lack of conformity can also identify
the hardest divergences between the good required and the good delivered.
In any case – it is necessary to give a clarification – the distinction between a
«corporal vice» and the different ontology of the good transferred is a pure and
highly problematic judgement of fact (and not a strict issue of law): this difficulty
arises from the fact that there are uncertainties about the measurement’s criteria
used to establish what it is – conventionally or already in rerum naturae – a genus
homogeneous and unit (for instance peaches, apples, bananas are all belonging to
the same genus of fruit? or any of these products is a genus in its own right? or
perhaps do still need to distinguish between the genus of summer fruits and the
genus of winter fruits? And so on). Therefore the use of the institute of aliud pro
alio often has to be explained simply on the basis of request of equitable justice, as
is perceived by the judge of the case when there is the expiration of the terms of
art. 1495 Civil Code.