In a judgment handed down on 24 April 2019 (file no. 32 Cdo 2214/2017), the Czech Supreme Court found that entities other than the seller may provide a warranty for goods sold. According to the court, while a sale agreement only creates a legal relationship between the buyer and the seller and the law only explicitly regulates defects and contractual warranties in the scope of these agreements, legal relations may also be set up between the buyer and a third party providing the warranty. Such a third party guarantees that the goods will retain certain features and the contract specifies related rights and obligations. There is no law prohibiting such an arrangement. Private law is generally based on a principle of free will. This means that if a legal arrangement is set up to cover a particular transaction (for example, a seller provides a warranty under section 429 of the Commercial Code), this does not rule out an agreement on the same obligations with a third party (a warranty provided by someone other than the seller) or a more general arrangement (a warranty agreement) though such an arrangement is not explicitly foreseen by law. It also does not prevent the parties from entering into various arrangements that create three-way liability in general or regarding any defects.
