Collective redress mechanisms are still relatively new in Europe in comparison to other legal systems such as in the United States. However, for the past couple of years the European Union and all its Member States have been discussing this matter. A large part of this debate has been focused on whether a collective redress mechanism is needed at EU level and if so, which legislative instrument would be the most appropriate. Another feature that has been highly debated is the cross-border dimension of collective redress. The majority of the EU Member States have some form of collect redress mechanism but the problem lies in the fact that they differ from member state to member state. Up to this point they have proven to be “limited in scope and effectiveness” as a high percentage of these redress mechanisms are usually limited to national claims. In June 2013, the European Commission put out the Recommendation on ‘common principles for injunctive and compensatory collective redress mechanisms in the Member States concerning violations of rights granted under Union Law’. Collective redress mechanisms involve situations whereby similar infractions committed by the same business or a group of businesses has caused harm or could have caused harm to a group of individuals and/or businesses. A collective redress mechanism …show more content…
One of the biggest arguments against collective redress mechanisms is that they can prompt the exploitations of such procedures. The most frequently cited threat is the example of the American regulation of class actions, whereby lawyers are permitted to receive contingency fees and punitive damages are