Comparative Legal Study on Procedural Rules and their Impact on Collective Redress Actions in Europe

Each European consumer should be able to receive compensation for the harm they have suffered. The Representative Actions Directive requires EU countries to allow qualified organisations to bring collective actions for consumer redress. However, it leaves many important details up to each country, leading to inconsistencies and challenges in areas such as compensation for immaterial damage, burden of proof and evidence disclosure, and case financing. This study commissioned by BEUC focuses on these three key areas, analysing how they are regulated in Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Poland, identifying obstacles and sharing examples of best practices to improve consumers’ access to justice.

The study highlights the need for better methods to quantify immaterial damage, facilitate disclosure of evidence, and reduce the burden of proof in consumer collective actions. It also stresses the importance of adequate financing of such actions, suggesting that – along with making public funding available – all Member States should enable  the use of third-party litigation funding to help cover the costs of these cases. Furthermore, the creation of consumer redress funds at the national or EU level could help bridge funding gaps, so that more European consumers can claim redress for the harm suffered.