Around the world, individuals, non-profit organizations and other collective entities are
turning to court systems for remedies to group harms: mass injuries caused by defective
products or environmental exposure to toxic chemicals, mass financial losses resulting
from violations of anti-trust, securities and other consumer protection statutes, and
historical and contemporaneous civil rights and human rights abuses. What were once
viewed as disputes between individuals, or between an individual and a corporation, are
now viewed as group struggles against multi-national corporations and other global
institutions.
In many respects, the United States has led the way in these developments. But today, in
the United States, there is vigorous controversy over the costs and benefits of class
litigation and efforts have been made at the federal and state level to rein in the litigation,
by statute and court decision. Interestingly, at the same time, class actions and other
mechanisms for collective action have gained support in other parts of the world. On
virtually every continent, one or more nations -- including both common law and civil
law regimes -- have adopted class action regimes. Read more... |
