A Comparative Guide to Representative Actions in the EU and UK

Introduction

The European Directive on Representative Actions requires EU Member States to introduce a representative or “class” action which is open to a multitude of consumers taking performance-based claims against corporations.

The purpose of this guide is to provide an overview of the implementation of the Directive and the legal situation in various EU Member States. Although the UK is no longer an EU Member State, we have included the UK in this guide because of its economic importance and because a class action regime also exists, albeit it is not based on the Directive.

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Member States were required to transpose the Directive into national law by 25 December 2022. As of 25 June 2023, the new rules should be applicable. Although delayed in some cases, most countries have now implemented the Directive.

The Directive intends to strengthen consumer rights and also reduce the workload of courts. Until now, the judicial approach in EU member states to group actions has varied significantly. Whilst some States already had provision for class actions to a certain extent, other States did not allow for performance-based claims. Overall, it can be said that class actions have not been as important in any European country in comparison to the US, and in turn represent a lower risk for global corporates. There are some concerns that this could change as a result of the Directive's application by Member States and that corporations in the EU could find themselves exposed to considerable liability risks from class actions in the future.

If you would like to find out more about class actions, please get in touch with your usual Eversheds Sutherland contact, or those listed in the Guide.