Belgium's New Consumer Class Action

Abstract

Until very recently, Belgium had no, or limited, tools to resolve mass cases. In the 2011 coalition agreement, the government Di Rupo aimed to put in place a procedure of collective claim settlement for consumers. In mid-December 2013, the cabinet approved a draft act introducing an action for collective redress in Belgium. The proposal was submitted to Parliament at the beginning of 2014. The act of 28 March 2014 ‘Introducing a Consumer Collective Redress Action in the Code of Economic Law’ was published in the Official Gazette on 29 April 2014 and entered into force on 1 September 2014.

This paper analyses Belgium's new consumer class action. It gives an overview of the class action prerequisites, the exclusive competence of the Brussels courts, the opt-in or opt-out regime and the procedure. Finally, a brief evaluation is made.

Keywords: collective redress, class action, consumers, Belgium