Thailand
Class action proceedings were first introduced in Thailand in 2015 through the Civil Procedure Code. Thai courts that are competent to try civil cases have the power to consider class action cases. A decision of the Court of First Instance to certify or decertify the class can be appealed. The decision of the Court of Appeal is final. After the courts determine whether a lawsuit should proceed as a class action or an ordinary civil case, the lawsuit advances to the merit stage.
Thailand
Explore the Class Actions landscape
Australia
Class actions are an established form of litigation that have grown significantly in Australia over the past decade. Outside of the United States, Australia has become one of the preferred jurisdictions to file a class action. The Federal laws governing the Australian class actions (or ‘representative proceedings’ as they are termed in the statute) regime has been enshrined since 1992. Five states have also enacted their own regimes, based substantially on the Federal model.
Australia
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South Africa
Class actions are relatively new in South Africa. The landscape has developed significantly in recent years, with several high-profile cases illustrating the growing use of the mechanism to address widespread human rights and environmental concerns.
South Africa
Germany
Germany’s class action landscape is distinctive in that potential claimants have a variety of legal options, each with their own characteristics. The system is still dominated by mass individual actions (MIAs) in which large numbers of claimants (up to several thousand) suffering analogous situations pursue separate legal proceedings. A well-known example is the litigation by investors for failing to achieve projected financial gains in the aftermath of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. There is also the diesel emissions scandal of 2015, when the US Environmental Protection Agency issued a violation notice to Volkswagen Group triggering a wave of litigation in Germany.
Germany
Class actions (“actions de groupe”) were introduced in France in 2014 by the Consumer Act 2014-344. Initially dedicated to consumer disputes, they later extended to health, environment, personal data protection, workplace discrimination and rental property matters. However, by 2023, only 35 class actions had been brought due to the procedure’s length, complexity and cost. No company has yet been found liable in France as a result of a class action.
France
Spain is developing a stronger regime to facilitate class actions. This involves transposing the EU Directive on representative actions into domestic law, a process that still awaits approval from the Spanish Parliament. The proposed law is expected to increase litigation and opportunities for plaintiffs.
Spain
Italy has traditionally offered limited scope for collective actions to protect consumers. Initial recourse under the Italian Consumer Code was followed in 2019 with separate amendments to the Civil Procedure Code, allowing for publicly registered organisations and associations to bring class actions to protect the rights of comparable groups of individuals.
Italy
The UK has a separate regime for collective claims based on infringements of competition law, which are heard by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT). Its scope was significantly expanded in 2015. Claims can be brought by a class representative on behalf of consumer or business claimants, seeking aggregate damages on either an opt-in or opt-out basis. Claims may be "follow-on", based on an existing decision by a competition regulator finding a competition law breach, or "standalone", without any underlying infringement decision.
UK - Competition
Class action litigation has become increasingly prominent in the English courts in the past decade, with claims increasing in number as well as size and value. The trend is largely due to the huge growth in the availability of litigation funding for these cases, rather than any legislative change. There is also increased willingness to use funding, including among institutional shareholders, who tend to be the key players in securities class actions.
UK - General (England and Wales)
France
Italy
General
(England and Wales)
Competition
Spain
UK
Europe
Africa
Asia Pacific
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United States
The Americas
Companies are facing more class action litigation in the past few years than ever before, particularly in the areas of consumer fraud, labor and employment, and securities. Antitrust and product liability also comprise a significant percentage of class action filings, and data privacy class actions have been on the rise as companies increasingly face security incidents and new legislation is enacted.
United States
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