Collective redress is a legal term used within the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
to define the legal instrument of group proceedings as there is absolutely no regulation at the moment. At the present the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
is working on a study to introduce European class action, similar to the US
class action
A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...
.
Background
The project is currently at the stage of obtaining expert report and opinion. A survey carried out by the
Commission showed that more than 79% of
EU consumers would exercise their rights with other
claimant
A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the ...
s in the event of joint proceedings. The possibility of group action would enable inexpensive legal action and would also act as deterrent.
[BEUC, loc cit (fn 1), p 2 ff.] The
Commission has declared that it will not be copying the US system, will avoid abusive and excessive practices and will take account of the 27 legal systems of
member states that have developed over time. The instrument of class action will not confer any new rights or create new claims but will only provide new ways of asserting these. Some European states already have proceedings which are similar to class action, others have introduced compromises, such as legal action taken by associations, although most
EU member states do not have any such instruments.
Further reading
*
References
{{reflist
External links
EuropeInvestControl
European Union legal terminology