In this issue: Whether you call it “collective redress” or “class action,” the problems of an appropriate role for a private consumer class in antitrust activity remain a constant in competition policy. The EU has issued Green papers, White papers, and now a Consultation request—all to determine if this should be an EU or national […]

Luke Tolaini, Samantha Ward, Apr 29, 2011 The European Commission’s public consultation on collective redress is the latest in a series of attempts at legislating for class action-style relief in Europe for breaches of EU law. It follows proposals in 2005 and 2008 by the Competition Directorate General (“DG COMP”) and the Health and Consumer Policy […]

PrivaAlberto Martinazzi, Apr 29, 2011 This paper aims to discuss one of the key themes underlying the recent European Commission’s public consultation on collective redress, i.e. which of the alternative class action models-opt-out, opt-in, and representative actions-would be best suited to pursue collective redress of EU law in national courts, and to what extent an […]

Ann Marie Galvin, Apr 29, 2011 Towards a Coherent European Approach to Collective Redress is the latest consultation by the European Commission (“Commission”) on collective redress and follows a 2005 Green Paper and a 2008 White Paper on antitrust damages actions; in 2008 there was also a Green Paper on consumer collective redress. The earlier […]

Paul Chaplin, Nicholas Heaton, Apr 29, 2011 In February 2011 the European Commission launched a public consultation on whether new EU-wide forms of collective redress should be introduced in order to strengthen the enforcement of European law. The consultation paper, entitled Towards a Coherent European Approach to Collective Redress (the “Consultation Paper”), is the result […]

Andrew Jeffries, Apr 29, 2011 The European Commission launched in February 2011 another consultation on proposals for collective redress. This is open to April 30, 2011, and takes the form of 34 open-ended questions. This is the latest in a long-running and tortuous attempt by the Commission to develop European collective redress, in particular in […]

Robert O’Donoghue, Apr 29, 2011 The rather long and bumpy road towards a minimum level of harmonization of substantive rules and procedures for class actions continues with the European Commission’s recent launch of a public consultation on collective redress (the “Public Consultation”), and public hearings on the matter on April 5, 2011. This followed a Joint […]