COLLECTIVE REDRESS LEGISLATION OF MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

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1 LEGISLATION OF S OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Austria Business relations Competition Collective interest organizations such as the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber and the Austrian Association for Consumer Information Consumer Protection Law of 1979 (ss ) Other qualified entities pursuant to the E.U. s s Directive Test Case Consumer Protection VKI (Austrian Association for Consumer Information), who is assigned claims by consumers Section 227 of the Code of Civil Procedure and specific performance Belgium Fair trade practices, including violations of the Unfair Trade Practices Act Environmental protection Anti-discrimination Individuals (with a personal and direct interest) Minister of Economic Affairs, Professional Organizations Consumer organizations Cyprus Consumer Protection Competition and Consumer Protection Department Cyprus Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Any lawfully incorporated body/organization with a legitimate interest in the issue The Czech Individual consumers, but each plaintiff is Act No. 634/1992 Coll. on

2 LEGISLATION OF S OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Republic Consumer Protection Unfair Competition considered an individual subject at each phase Consumer organizations protection of consumers. Act No. 99/1963 Coll., Civil Procedure Code Act No. 513/1991 Coll., Commercial Code Denmark Consumer Protection Consumer Ombudsman Any person or organization with sufficient legal interest Art. 20 and art. 27 of the Marketing Practices Act Group Wide scope excluding matrimonial cases and paternity cases Opt-in Opt-out ONLY where: (1) the claims are so low that they would not be pursued through individual action; and (2) the opt-in model is considered to be inappropriate Class representative is appointed, who can be a class member, an association or organization or a public authority. Only the Consumer Ombudsman can initiate an opt-out action. 1 January 2008 Administration of Justice Act (Denmark), Pt 23, Act No. 181 Estonia Consumer Protection (pursuant to the E.U. s s Directive) Consumer Protection Board State Agency of Medicine Communication Board Financial Supervision Authority Ministry of Culture

3 LEGISLATION OF S OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Finland Wide scope excluding competition law, environment law or legislation regulating equality between men and woman State or municipal authorities The Consumer Protection Act, 1978 s Conditional fines, Corrective advertising Group Consumer Ombudsman only The Group Act October Opt-in procedure France Group Investor protection Victims must be personally identified Opt-in: each plaintiff must give the Association a mandate to act on their behalf and specific performance Approved associations representing consumers or investors 1992 Article L Consumer Code Germany : fair commercial practices or standard contract terms Professionals and consumer organizations, Act on Injunctive 2002 (Unterlassungsklagengesetz) German Law Against Unfair

4 LEGISLATION OF S OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Unfair competition Victims must be personally identified Competition, No. 8 RBerG (German Law Governing Legal Advice) Disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, which is given to the Federal budget (in unfair competition) Test Case Where a series of investors suffer a similar damage as a result of misleading statements on securities or bad performance of a contract resulting from an offer of securities Monetary damages and specific performance may be awarded An individual may bring an action for a test case, where at least 10 individual actions have been filed. The court adjudicates one individual action. The other individual lawsuits are suspended until judgment in the test case is rendered, which is then binding on all plaintiffs enrolled in the register. November 2005 Capital Markets Model Case Act (mass securities litigation) Five year pilot stage. Damages are individually awarded based on a model proceeding Greece Consumer associations Article 10of Law 2251/1994 regarding consumer protection. Compensation for moral damages may be awarded for consumers, collectively Hungary Social organizations representing consumer interests Public prosecutor General Inspectorate of Consumer Affairs Cease and desist order pursuant to Section 39 of the Hungarian Consumer Protection Act, Section 209/B of the Hungarian Civil Code and Section 92 of the

5 LEGISLATION OF S OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Hungarian Competition Act Ireland Director of Consumer Affairs Consumer Information Act 1978; Unfair Terms in Contracts Regulations 1995 Italy Registered consumer associations Consumers Code of 2005 (Codice del Consumo) Group (not yet in force; pending revisions) Opt-in Registered consumer associations Organizations and committees that sufficiently represent the collective interests at issue Legge Finanziaria per il 2008, Articles Article 140bis in the Consumer code. com/cgi-bin/article.pl?article_id=25376 Latvia Consumer rights Protection Centre Consumer Rights Protection Law of 2001 (Article 25) Lithuania Consumer associations

6 LEGISLATION OF S OF THE EUROPEAN UNION National Consumer Rights Protection Board Luxembourg Individuals Any professional group or domestic consumer organization authorized by the Law of 19 December 2003 Article 6.2 of the Law of 25 august 1983 (legal protection of consumers.) Article 25 of the Law of 30 July 2002 (regulating certain trade practices) Malta Director of Consumer Affairs. Consumers Directive 98/27EC Chapter 378, Consumer Affairs Act Dependent upon the type of complaint and applicable law Norway Wide scope Organizations with sufficient connection to the subject matter in dispute (a natural representative ) Rectification of Damages Group Wide scope Opt-in Opt-out is available where (1) the claims are of such a small value that it wouldn t make sense to be pursued individually; (2) the claims likely do not raise individual issues. An individual who fulfils the conditions for class membership An organization, association or public body, provided the action falls within its purpose and scope The representative may be an organization, trust or public body. Chapter 35 in the Dispute Act of January 2008 Civil Procedure Code.

7 LEGISLATION OF S OF THE EUROPEAN UNION The Netherlands organizations Dutch Civil Code 1 July :305a/b Civil Code 6:240 Civil Code Collective Settlement Approval Wide scope Opt-out Monetary damages Two parties to the settlement can petition the court for approval of that settlement on an opt-out basis 1 August 2005 Act on Collective Settlement of Mass Damages (WCAM) Dutch Code of Civil Procedure (Article CPP) Poland : abusive contractual terms in consumer adhesion contracts; and unfair commercial practices Ombudsmen or consumer organizations An individual may initiate the procedure for an abusive contractual term. Act on the Protection of Competition and Consumers implemented Directive 98/27/CE Portugal Individuals associations Decree-Law 446/85 of 25 October

8 LEGISLATION OF S OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Group Any consumer who is directly injured 1995 Opt-out Consumer association Ministerio Publico The claimant in the popular action is granted standing as the representative, and acts for all those who do not opt out. Law No 83/95 of 31 st August, Right of Proceeding, Participation and Popular ; and Law No 24/96 of 31 st July, Establishing the Legal System Applicable to Consumer Protection. Slovakia Consumers Consumer organizations Article 26 of Law 634/1992 Coll. Act on Consumers Protection; Code of Civil Procedure Slovenia Environmental protection Individuals organization Articles Consumer Protection Act Article 133 Code of Obligations (1 January 2002) Spain Environmental protection Competition Law Intituto Nacional de Consumo (National Consumer Institute) and their equivalents in the Regions (Comunidades Autónomas) Consumers Associations Public prosecutor There is a general collective injunction regulated by the Ley 1/2000 (LEC) and other collective injunctions regulated by sectorial rules Directive 98/27/CE Group Consumer Protection Opt-in Groups of victims or Consumers Associations, where the victims are easily determinable Where victims are not easily determinable, Civil Procedure Act (LEC) of 2000

9 LEGISLATION OF S OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Compensation for damages claims can only be brought by Consumer Associations There are other laws that may recognize standing in particular situations (eg. Ley 26/1984) Sweden : market law; and unfair contract terms Consumer Ombudsman Consumer and wage-earners organizations Individual competitors (only on grounds of alleged breach of the Marketing Practices Act) Group Individuals January Wide scope Opt-in Association of consumers, environmental organizations, or non-profit organizations Designated public authorities Swedish Group Proceedings Act United Kingdom (U.K.) Fair trading Approved consumer representative bodies, e.g. Office of Fair Trading ( OFT ) Directive 98/27/CE Environmental protection Competition law Group / Test Case Wide scope An individual who has filed an action On the court s own initiative By the solicitors who act for any party Civil Procedure Rules Part 19 III and practice directions s may be obtained under Part 8 of the Enterprise

10 LEGISLATION OF S OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Act 2002 A Group Litigation Order ( GLO ) is the mechanism that permits the collective action and is required from the court before individual actions are grouped. The order defines the group that is to be included. s: actions that are brought by an organization on behalf of a group of individuals, typically consumers. are restricted to injunctions. The Test Case: individuals who have filed separate actions may agree that one individual action forms a model proceeding for the other individual actions against the same defendants. The outcome of the first individual action is only binding on those individuals that have joined the test case register. Group s: Individuals may bring an action for monetary damages on behalf of a group of individuals. Generally group actions are opt-in, instead of opt-out, which means that the decision or settlement is binding only on those who have expressly joined the class. The information for this chart was compiled from the following resources: (1) The Global Class s Exchange, hosted by Stanford Law School. Online at: This provides a collection of country reports prepared for The Globalization of Class s Oxford Conference of 13 & 14 December 2007, organized by Professor Deborah Hensler, Stanford University and Dr. Christopher Hodges, Oxford University. (2) Dr. Jules Stuyck et al, The Study Centre for Consumer Law- Centre for European Economic Law Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, An Analysis and Evaluation of the Alternative Means of Consumer Redress Other Than Redress Through Ordinary Judicial Proceedings, Final Report: A Study for the European Commission, Health and Consumer Protection Directorate-General Directorate B- Consumer Affairs (Leuven, January 17, 2007), online: ec.europa.eu/consumers/redress/reports_studies/comparative_report_en.pdf (3) 28 National Reports, prepared by the University of Leuven (November 16, 2006), available online:

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