Consumer Collective Redress under the Brussels I Regulation Recast in the Light of the Commission's Common Principles

Abstract

This paper examines the state of play on cross-border consumer collective redress in Europe in the light of three important instruments: (1) the Brussels I Regulation (Recast) (2) the Commission Communication entitled “Towards a European Horizontal Framework for Collective Redress”; and (3) the 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 Union Law. The study highlights general disappointment with the new European Union instruments. The disappointment stems from the mediocre consumer collective redress likely to be achieved by the aforementioned three instruments.