Directive 2020/1828 on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers: an overview

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the most relevant elements that the recently enacted Directive (EU) 2020/1828 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2020 on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers introduces into European Union law and that the Member States must take into account when transposing the aforementioned Regulation. Specifically, this paper deals with the aspects related to legal standing in national and “cross-border” representative actions, the subjective scope of protection, the opt-in and opt-out mechanisms, the nature of the claim, the relationship between the representative action and other subsequent actions, the supervision of the financing of representative.actions by third parties, the possibility of settlement agreements and the information and publicityof representative actions