The Representative Actions Directive

across Central Europe

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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.

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.