EUROPEAN CONSUMER PROTECTION LAWS: PRODUCT SAFETY AND CLASS ACTIONS

CD: Could you provide an overview of key consumer protection legislation across Europe? How uniform is European consumer law for collective redress at the present time?

Pouche: Despite the general lack of consistent and uniform consumer protection legislation across the European Union (EU), there are a number of EU Directives which set out provisions for dealing with unfair commercial practices and increasing consumer protection. Among the most important applicable laws are Directive 93/13/EEC, which prohibits unfair terms in consumer contracts, Directive 2005/29/EC, which regulates unfair commercial practices, the ‘general’ Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU and the recent Consumer Directive 2019/2161. This latter Directive is part of the ‘New Deal for Consumers’ initiative, which must be adopted by member states by end of 2021. At present, there is no harmonised class action procedure within the EU and member states are not obliged to provide for such proceedings. However, this will change when the EU’s Representative Action Directive No. 2020/1828 – which requires EU member states to provide in their jurisdictions in 24 months a new class action procedure on a harmonised basis across the EU – comes into force.

Akyurek: As a result of the reformation of the Treaty of Rome by the Treaties of Maastricht and Amsterdam, European consumer law has significantly developed over recent decades. Directive 2019/2161 of 27 November 2019, amending Directive 98/6 on indication of prices, Directive 2005/29 on unfair business practices and Directive 2011/83 on consumers’ rights, are recent examples of the EU’s willingness to keep improving consumers protection across Europe. However, until the implementation of Directive 2020/1828 into national laws, there will be no uniformity in Europe regarding consumer law for collective redress. Actually, while each member state has currently adopted a form of class action, often taking the form of an injunctive relief, some countries do not currently have a compensatory collective redress mechanism.

Apr-Jun 2021 issue

Herbert Smith Freehills

Jones Day