Policy Field

Civil Justice

Period of consultation

From 22 05 2017 to 15 08 2017 (12 weeks)

Policy context of the consultation

On 11 June 2013 the Commission adopted a Communication "Towards a European Horizontal Framework for Collective Redress" and a Recommendation 2013/396/EU on common principles for injunctive and compensatory collective redress mechanisms in the Member States concerning violations of rights granted under Union Law.

The horizontal Commission Recommendation recommends that all Member States have collective mechanisms at national level for both injunctive and compensatory relief concerning violations of rights granted under Union Law and sets out the common principles that should be followed by national collective redress mechanisms.

The Recommendation calls on the Member States to put in place appropriate measures 26 July 2015.

The Commission should assess the implementation of the Recommendation on the basis of practical experience in order to check effectiveness and efficiency of the rules put in place and assess whether further measures should be considered to consolidate and strengthen the horizontal approach reflected in the Recommendation.

Since the Report of the Commission, following the Recommendation, should be based on practical experience, the form of the call for evidence has been chosen. Therefore, with this public consultation the Commission seeks to gather practical experiences of the stakeholders with the implementation of the Recommendation.

In parallel to the consultation, a study is carried out by the external contractor. Within the framework of the study the contractor is carrying out targeted in-depth interviews with stakeholders, which thus creates an additional consultation channel.

Objective of the consultation

The overall objective of the consultation is to collect information on stakeholders' practical experiences with collective actions, both injunctive and compensatory as well as on situations, where collective action could have been appropriate, but was not sought.

In addition, the consultation has a number of specific objectives:

• Identify collective legal actions within the scope of the Recommendation, initiated after its adoption;
• Collect quantitative and qualitative data concerning these actions (subject-matter, number of people involved, harm suffered, applied remedies, obstacles, abuses, etc.);
• Identify situations in which collective action could have been appropriate but was not taken, identify the reasons for and effects of not taking the action;
• Obtain views on the effectiveness and efficiency of collective actions.

Who can reply to this consultation?

It is important for the European Commission to obtain views in particular from the stakeholders likely to have been involved in collective redress actions, or that could have been involved in such actions, both claimants and their organizations, representative entities (as defined in point 4 of the Recommendation), as well as defendants and their organizations. In addition, the participation of lawyers, judges and public authorities is equally encouraged.

As the Recommendation is of horizontal character, relevant organizations representing claimants as well as public authorities, active in different policy fields, should participate. The participation of consumer, environmental and (broadly) fundamental rights organization is sought. Business organizations should participate as well, in particular in the competition field. On the defendant's side, businesses and business organizations are encouraged to reply.

How to submit your contribution?

This consultation questionnaire can be filled out online and respondents are strongly encouraged to make use of this electronic tool when replying.

It is not compulsory to answer all questions. Even if you are not an expert, please feel free to answer as many questions as you consider appropriate. In any case, please note that we cannot guarantee to be able to take account of replies received after the deadline of 15/08/2017.

All contributions will be published on the website of the European Commission, subject to data protection rules and the restrictions applicable to organisations.

In the interest of transparency, the Commission asks organisations that wish to submit comments in the context of public consultations to provide the Commission and the public at large with information about whom and what they represent by registering in the Transparency Register and subscribing to its Code of Conduct . If an organisation decides not to provide this information, it is the Commission's stated policy to list the contribution as part of the individual contributions (Consultation Standards, see COM (2002) 704 , and Communication on ETI Follow-up, see COM (2007) 127 of 21/03/2007 ).

If you are a registered organisation, please indicate your Register ID number in the Transparency Register when replying to the online questionnaire. Your contribution will then be considered as representative of the views of your organisation.

If your organisation is not registered, you have the opportunity to REGISTER NOW . Then you can return to this page and submit your contribution as a registered organisation.

Questionnaire

The questionnaire was available in English, German and French. 

Replies to the questionnaire : https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/publication/Collective_Redress

Contact details for more information

Responsible service: DG Justice, Directorate A - Civil Justice

E-mail: JUST-A1-CIVIL-JUSTICE@ec.europa.eu

Postal address: European Commission
Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers
Unit A 1 Civil Justice - Secretariat
Rue Montoyer 59,
1049 BRUSSELS, Belgium

Please always indicate the following subject line in your correspondence CONSULTATION ON COLLECTIVE REDRESS

Data Protection Disclaimer

• Specific privacy statement

Thank you for your participation!