The threat of collective redress in product liability cases

The European Commission Recommendation on Collective Redress (2013/396/EU) establishes a framework to ensure a coherent horizontal approach to collective litigation in the EU context without harmonising national systems. The Commission clearly aims at distinguishing collective redress in Europe from the North American class action approach. The book explores the need for mass litigation mechanisms in Europe from a series of interdisciplinary perspectives (law and economics, behavioural sciences, and sociological and judicial perspectives). It also analyses the current collective redress landscape in Europe in light of the Commission Recommendation; this includes an assessment of national collective redress mechanisms; views from oversees on the present and future of collective litigation in Europe; commentary on various specific areas of collective redress including competition law, product liability and consumer protection; and the options for and relevance of collective ADR mechanisms.