Vukadinović, Slobodan and Popović, Jovana (2026) Class Action Versus Representative Action : Are We Facing the Gradual Harmonisation Between American and European Model of Collective Consumer Actions? In: Balkan Yearbook of European and International Law 2025. Balkan yearbook of European and international law (Online) . Springer, Cham, pp. 225-243. ISBN 978-3-032-16296-0
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The chapter deals with a comparative consideration of two dominant models of collective legal protection of consumers: the American class action system and the European representative action approach. The analysis focuses on their institutional frameworks, procedural assumptions, and value foundations. While the American model is characterized by broad accessibility of legal protection and the role of attorneys as initiators of proceedings, the European approach relies on a controlled institutional structure and limitation of the number of actively legitimized entities. Special attention is given to Directive (EU) 2020/1828 on representative actions for the protection of collective interests and rights, as the most significant step towards the improvement of collective protection in current European legislation. The chapter points to the application of the Directive in certain EU member states, as well as to the current challenges. After the comparison, the chapter highlights differences in the manner of financing proceedings, active legitimacy, and the effects of judgments depending on the opt-in and opt-out models. The issue of the practical effectiveness of both systems, as well as challenges regarding the enforcement of judgments and actual compensation of injured consumers, is also examined. Through a critical review of the advantages and weaknesses of both models, the chapter seeks to indicate the possibilities of their functional combination. The authors show that neither model is sufficiently effective on its own, but that a sustainable approach must encompass both institutional control and procedural accessibility. In this respect, the chapter opens the possibility of examining gradual harmonization, through the rapprochement of current solutions of the American and European models. The authors conclude that effective collective legal protection of consumers should be understood as a key instrument for preserving trust in the market, the law, and the institutional order.
| Item Type: | Book Section |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | COBISS.SR-ID 187581961 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | consumer ; class action ; representative action ; collective interests of consumers ; protection of collective interests ; European Union ; potrošač ; grupna tužba ; reprezentativna tužba ; kolektivni interesi potrošača ; zaštita kolektivnih interesa ; Evropska unija |
| Subjects: | Consumer Protection Law International Commercial Law |
| Depositing User: | Mr Stanko Kovačić |
| Date Deposited: | 20 Feb 2026 11:18 |
| Last Modified: | 20 Feb 2026 11:18 |
| URI: | http://repozitorijum.pravnifakultet.edu.rs/id/eprint/2083 |
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