Find out what representative actions are, who can bring them, who can benefit from them and what types of remedies they can provide.
What are representative actions?
A representative action is a legal action brought by a qualified entity to protect the collective interests of consumers affected by the same or similar unlawful practice by a trader.
Instead of each consumer having to bring an individual claim, a qualified entity can represent the interests of a larger group of consumers in a single proceeding.
Representative actions are particularly important in cases where a large number of consumers are affected by the same practice, while the individual harm suffered by each consumer may not be sufficient to make individual legal action worthwhile.
Who can bring a representative action?
Representative actions can be brought by qualified entities that meet the criteria established by law. A qualified entity may be a consumer organisation or another body designated in accordance with the rules of a Member State.
In Croatia, the system of representative actions is regulated by the Act on Representative Actions for the Protection of Collective Interests and Rights of Consumers (Official Gazette No. 59/23).
Qualified entities in Croatia
In Croatia, the following consumer organisations have been designated to bring representative actions:
In addition to consumer organisations, certain public bodies responsible for specific areas of consumer protection may also be authorised to bring representative actions — see the list of qualified entities in Croatia.
If you believe that a large number of consumers have been affected by the same unlawful practice by a trader, you can contact a qualified entity for information about possible collective legal action.
Who can benefit?
Consumers affected by the same or similar unlawful practice by a trader may benefit from a representative action. This is particularly important where bringing an individual claim would be too costly, time-consuming or complex compared with the value of the individual loss.
Consumers who have not brought individual legal proceedings themselves may therefore benefit from collective redress. The way in which consumers participate in the proceedings and benefit from their outcome depends on the type of measure sought and the rules applicable in the relevant Member State.
What measures can be sought?
Representative actions can seek different measures to protect consumers. These include:
- injunctive measures — to stop or prohibit an unlawful practice by a trader;
- redress measures — such as compensation, repair, replacement, price reduction, contract termination or reimbursement, where such remedies are available under the applicable law.
In certain cases, both injunctive measures and redress measures may be sought in the same representative action.
What is the role of qualified entities?
Qualified entities play a key role in the representative action system. They may:
- assess whether there are grounds for bringing an action;
- bring a representative action;
- represent the collective interests of affected consumers;
- participate in court proceedings;
- inform consumers about the proceedings and their outcome;
- take the necessary steps to ensure that affected consumers can benefit from redress measures.
A qualified entity does not act only on behalf of an individual consumer — it acts in the collective interest of consumers affected by the same or similar practice.
Representative actions in the European Union
Directive (EU) 2020/1828 on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers established a common framework for representative actions across the European Union. The Directive enables qualified entities to bring proceedings to protect the collective interests of consumers, including proceedings seeking injunctive and redress measures.
Representative actions may be:
- domestic — where a qualified entity brings an action in the Member State in which it has been designated;
- cross-border — where a qualified entity brings an action in a Member State other than the one in which it was designated.
Qualified entities from different Member States may also cooperate in cross-border cases where consumers in several Member States are affected by the same or similar practice.
Qualified entities across the EU
The European Commission maintains a list of qualified entities designated by Member States to bring cross-border representative actions. The list includes qualified entities from Croatia, Austria, Italy and other Member States.
Within the ACT4Consumers project, we will pay particular attention to the experience and development of representative action systems in Croatia, Austria and Italy.