Class Actions, Conflict and the Global Economy

Abstract

In recent years, the class action has emerged as a flashpoint for friction in cross-border civil litigation. Disagreement regarding the function, utility and desirability of class actions is particularly evident in the U.S.-European debate. This brief essay focuses on that debate, discussing the rhetoric of animosity toward the U.S. class action system that frames the process of procedural reform in Europe. It offers an explanation for that animosity that touches on both the internal politics of European reform efforts and the “export” of the U.S. model to Europe. It then identifies the harms that flow from this antagonism, describing the ways in which it interferes with the development of a more contextual understanding of the different legal, procedural and cultural norms observed in different countries.