The Representative Actions Directive across Central Europe

On 25 June 2023, the deadline expired for the entering into force of the national legislation transposing the Directive (EU) 2020/1828 on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers.

The process of implementing the Representative Actions Directive is still ongoing and varies from country to country, but a cross-jurisdictional assessment is required for a full understanding and better prediction of the impact of this new framework.

One year later, while in some countries the legislation regarding representative actions has not been transposed or the process is still in an early stage, in other states such lawsuits have already appeared based on the new regulation. Following the transposition of the Directive becomes relevant, since the practice in all Member States could be a source of inspiration for the states where this process is in its infancy.

The Directive aims to harmonise the collective civil litigation mechanisms available to consumers seeking redress from traders from various sectors of the economy that infringe their consumer rights. Essentially, the new regulation allows a very large (virtually unlimited) number of consumers to raise collectively and in a coordinated manner identical or similar claims against the same company and in the same lawsuit. This new framework mirrors the class-actions existing in the US, but taking into consideration the traditions existing in European jurisdictions.

Covering both domestic and cross-border representative actions, the legislation has the potential to impact the balance of power between consumers and traders.

In this publication, we look at the transposition status of the Directive across 10 Central European EU Members States. In addition, we provide insights into class actions regimes in selected non-EU Member States. We hope you will find this overview interesting and helpful to your work.