Dutch collective actions and the rise of entrepreneurial actors: Navigating between access to justice and a claim culture

Abstract

Over the past decades, the idea has gained ground - also - in the Netherlands that representative organizations should be able to pursue an action in the interest of others. Nowadays, collective actions have developed into an important area of Dutch private law. Increasingly, such actions involve entrepreneurial actors such as third-party litigation funders. In this publication, the author looks back on the developments over the past 25 years, and addresses the question to what extent entrepreneurial actors have contributed to access to justice, and whether this might intensify with the recently introduced collective action for damages act. The author observes a mix of representative organizations in the collective action market, and argues that, so far, the contribution of entrepreneurial parties can be considered as modest and positive, but that alertness remains warranted in order to avoid excesses or abuse.