Challenges in Drafting and Applying the New Slovenian Collective Actions Act

Abstract

AbstractThe Slovenian Collective Actions Act (CAA) was enacted in September 2017 and came into effect in April 2018. Collective redress available in Slovenia before the enactment of the CAA did not provide for any collective compensatory actions for any group of victims. Only collective injunctive relief was available for safeguarding the interests of consumers under the Consumer Protection Act of 1998 that implemented the EU Injunctions Directive. As more and more mass harm cases were detected in Slovenia, and as collective redress became one of the focal topics within the EU, the CAA was perceived as an urgently needed piece of legislation and a top priority of the Slovenian Government in guaranteeing access to justice. The CAA was drafted in 2016 taking into account the European Commission’s Recommendation of 11 June 2013 on common principles for injunctive and compensatory collective redress mechanisms in the Member States concerning violations of rights granted under EU law, as well as best legislative solutions and practices of various foreign models. It introduced collective settlements, and compensatory and injunctive collective actions. Since the start of the application of the CAA, three collective actions have been filed with the courts under its rules. The purpose of this contribution is to show the challenges faced and the decisions taken in drafting the act as well as the problems the parties and the judiciary have been facing in the application of the CAA. The Slovenian experience may serve as a model of the “dos” and “don’ts” for all drafters of such legislation in the EU Member States where collective redress has not yet been implemented.