Whether with regard to mass torts, civil-rights claims or as a means of private enforcement of antitrust and other regulatory policies: Collective redress of civil claims has been gaining in importance in Europe and worldwide. Long associated with the American model of class actions, an increasing number of EU Member States have made their own attempts at collective redress institutions. At the same time, the amendment of the Brussels I Regulation has shied away from dealing with the cross-border aspects of collective redress. In this book, a worldwide group of distinguished experts in private international law, civil procedure and regulatory law evaluate the problems of cross-border collective redress and provide proposals for a "European way" appropriate for the twenty-first century. This very topical work is, thus, indispensable for practitioners, academics, lobbyists and institutional agents.

Government, in all of its guises, plays a significant, controversial, and sometimes hidden, role in class actions reform and litigation.

In recent decades, the rise in cross-border law violations has harmed numerous victims around the globe. The damages are often dispersed and low-level. As a result, the private enforcement gap has deepened and collective redress represents an interesting procedural instrument that is able to provide effective access to justice. This book analyses thoroughly the dominant collective redress models adopted in the EU. Data from 13 Member States has been catalogued and categorised. The research mainly focuses on the consumer law field but frequent references to financial and data protection-related cases are made. The dominant collective redress models are then studied from a private international law perspective. In particular, the book highlights the current mismatch between collective redress on the one hand, and rules on international jurisdiction on the other. Additionally, it notes that barriers to cross-border litigation remain significant for victims and their representatives. The unprecedented empirical study included in this book confirms that statement. Observing that EU measures have not satisfactorily lowered those barriers, the author proposes the creation of a new head of jurisdiction for cases of international collective redress. This book will be of interest to private international law scholars, researchers, students, legal practitioners, judges and policy-makers. It is a reference point for those with an interest in cross-border collective redress in particular, and private international law in general.

Not so long ago, class actions were considered to be a textbook example of American exceptionalism; many of their main features were assumed to be incompatible with the culture of the civil law world. However, the tide is changing; while there are now trends in the USA toward limiting or excluding class actions, notorious cases like Dieselgate are moving more and more European jurisdictions to extend the reach of their judicial collective redress mechanisms. For many new fans of class actions, collective redress has become a Holy Grail of sorts, a miraculous tool that will rejuvenate national systems of civil justice and grant them unprecedented power. Still, while the introduction of various forms of representative action has virtually become a fashion, it is anything but certain that attempting to transplant American-style class action will be successful. European judicial structures and legal culture(s) are fundamentally different, which poses a considerable challenge. This book investigates whether class actions in Europe are indeed a Holy Grail or just another wrong turn in the continuing pursuit of just and effective means of protecting the rights of citizens and businesses. It presents both positive and critical perspectives, supplemented by case studies on the latest collectivization trends in Europe’s national civil justice systems. The book also shares the experiences of some non-European jurisdictions that have developed promising hybrid forms of collective redress, such as Canada, Brazil, China, and South Africa. In closing, a selection of topical international cases that raise interesting issues regarding the effectiveness of class actions in an international context are studied and discussed.

Several decades ago, a typical arbitration would involve one claimant against one respondent. Over the years, more and more cases involve several claimants against several respondents. Today, one third of all international ICC arbitrations seem to involve multiparty cases, multi-contract cases involving multiple contracts, multiple parties. The evolution has continued and the debate today is whether it would be possible for a class of people in the same situation or a group of citizens having the same interest to start one single arbitration procedure as a group or as a class. This publication examines the complex issues involved in class or group arbitration on a comparative law basis. Is there a place for such proceedings within the framework of the arbitration process? Class action procedures, as developed in the United States court system and more recently in Canada, are almost nonexistent in Europe. The European Commission has advocated collective redress as an important means of access to justice but class actions have found little enthusiasm in the Members States. The book highlights the lessons which have been learned from the experience of cases in the US and in Europe. What does the future hold for class, collective and mass arbitrations? Are they a marginal phenomenon or has their potential yet to be realized? What are possible solutions to the issues that have been encountered? Can we expect to see more of such arbitrations in the future? Written by arbitrators, academics and practitioners, this Dossier will provide the answers to these questions and many more.

Defending Class Actions in Canada is aimed at businesses that may become defendants in class actions in Canada and the lawyers who defend them. Companies doing business in this country now have an intense interest in the proliferation of class actions and the risks posed by that development to their operations. This book not only outlines all of the steps in such actions and the law that governs them, it provides a useful analysis on a national scale of the most important developments and predictions of future trends.

Raising a series of questions on resolving mass disputes, and fuelling future debate, this book will provide a challenging and thought-provoking read for law academics, practitioners and policy-makers.