产品责任领域里一个主要的争议课题、也是英国严格责任新体系所讨论的热门题目就是所谓的“开发风险”抗辩理由。被起诉者援引这一抗辩理由时,如果可以证明,相关时间内的科学技术水平不可能让人们期望生产者——其产品和有争议的产品属于同一种类——会在产品仍处于其控制下时,发现假定已存在于其产品中的缺陷,该生产者即可逃脱由于其产品的缺陷而造成的损失之责任。联合王国政府坚持在接受《欧共体产品责任指令》之前该指令必须采纳这一抗辩理由。欧共体其他几个少数成员国则认为全无采纳此抗辩理由的必要。有鉴于此,《指令》第15条准许成员国背离第7条(e)的规定——该条承认开发风险抗辩理由——将严格责任扩展到包 One of the major controversial topics in the field of product liability, and a hot topic discussed in the new UK system of strict liability, is the so-called “development risk” defense. When prosecutors invoke this ground of defense, it can not be proved that the level of science and technology at the relevant time can not allow one to expect that the producer, whose product is in the same category as the disputed product, will be under control of the product , The defect assumed to already exist in its product is found, the producer is able to escape the responsibility of the damage caused by the defect of his product. The government of the United Kingdom insisted that the directive must adopt this defense before accepting the European Community Product Liability Directive. Several other minority members of the European Community did not consider it necessary to adopt this defense. In view of this, Article 15 of the Directive allows Member States to deviate from the provisions of Article 7 (e) - which recognizes the development of risk defense grounds - extends the strict liability to the package