The Italian Class Action Reform: A Redesigned Tool beyond Consumer Law

Abstract

Given the globalized scale of the current economic system, effective collective redress mechanisms represent a fundamental tool for consumers and citizens. While in the United States collective actions constitute a common instrument, in the European context their development has been more complex. After a Recommendation issued by the European Commission in 2013, several models have been adopted or reformed across Europe. The regulatory competition approach has been preferred in respect of the simple harmonization of the several national rules. In particular, the French system adopted a completely new tool, the action de groupe, in 2014, while in the UK an option for opt-out collective actions has been recently introduced. The debate over reform of collective redress has also flourished in Italy, leading to the adoption of Law No. 31 of 2019, which will enter into force in November 2020 and will completely redesign the Italian collective action model. This reform has broadened the scope of such a remedy, which has also been made available outside the consumer law field. Moreover, the opt-in system has been strengthened, by allowing adherents to join the claim after the decision on the merits issued by the court. The latter solution embodies a transplant of the action de groupe. In the meantime, the European Union has reawakened its interest in the collective redress field and has drafted a directive proposal, which was approved by the Council of the EU in November 2019. This article will analyse the new Italian reform in a comparative perspective with the French model. collective action; class action; collective redress; consumers; damages; tort law; Italy; Italian law; France; French law; reform; compensation; comparative law; European Union.