The texts published are drafted in their original language and are not subject to any translation.
Environmental
class action
Standing to bring an environmental class action is granted to accredited environmental protection associations and consumer associations, which are deemed accredited for the purpose of bringing such actions. Where public prosecution has been initiated by the public prosecutor or the injured party, standing is also recognised for associations representing victims of collective accidents, which may be granted ad hoc accreditation.
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The action may seek the cessation of a breach and/or compensation for material and bodily harm resulting from environmental damage, suffered by several persons placed in a similar situation and arising from a specific field, namely damage to nature and the environment, the improvement of living conditions, and the protection of water, air, soil, sites and landscapes, urban planning, and maritime fishing. The group may consist of both natural and legal persons, and the liable party may likewise be a natural or legal person, governed by either private or public law. A direct action against the insurer is also available.
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The theoretical contributions of the introduction of a class action mechanism in environmental matters are undeniable. First, it complements both public enforcement and actions brought in the collective interest stricto sensu, by addressing homogeneous individual rights that might otherwise remain ineffective in the absence of an aggregative tool. It suspends the limitation period for individual actions and enhances legal certainty, as the res judicata effect extends to potential successive class actions based on the same facts. Secondly, it entails no procedural risk for affected individuals, since adhesion to the group occurs only after a decision has been rendered on the defendant’s liability. Finally, the assessment of damages through a collective liquidation procedure is expected to facilitate standardised compensation.
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In practice, however, no environmental class action appears to have been initiated to date. Some commentators have concluded that the mechanism has failed. Comparative law nevertheless shows that, in countries where collective redress mechanisms have been introduced, an “adaptation period” lasting several decades has sometimes been necessary. Therefore, the absence of actions within a five-year period should not, in itself, justify its repeal. Rather, it may reveal structural shortcomings and the need to reconsider certain substantive and procedural rules in order to render the mechanism effective. Indeed, environmental class actions indirectly contribute to environmental protection: through the compensation of individual harm, civil liability may fulfil not only its compensatory function, but also its normative function, whose preventive and deterrent virtues appear essential in environmental matters.
On the Number of Class Actions: Register​
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Further Reading:​