New Study by Prof. Halfmeier on Collective Redress in the EU Published
2025-03-25 How do procedural rules affect the effectiveness of collective redress mechanisms in Europe? A recent comparative legal study involving Professor Dr Axel Halfmeier analyses the implementation of the EU Representative Actions Directive across several Member States and identifies key challenges and best practices. The findings offer valuable insights for consumer organisations, legal policymakers, and scholars.
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Together with four fellow researchers from Belgium, Italy, Poland, and Germany, Professor Dr. Axel Halfmeier has conducted a comparative legal study commissioned by the European consumer organisation BEUC. The study examines how procedural rules influence the effectiveness of collective redress mechanisms in Europe and identifies key challenges and best practices in areas such as the quantification of non-material damages, burden of proof and fact-finding, and the funding of collective actions.
The study focuses in particular on how Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Poland have implemented Directive (EU) 2020/1828 on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers (EU Representative Actions Directive), and which obstacles consumer organisations face in asserting claims. In addition to analysing the current legal frameworks, the study also provides legal policy recommendations aimed at improving collective redress in the EU.
The full study is available here:
Comparative Legal Study on Procedural Rules and their Impact on Collective Redress Actions in Europe