Poland
The Directive on representative actions has not yet been implemented in Poland. We are monitoring the status of the legislation and will update this page as soon as implementation details are known.
Get to know our Polish disputes team.
Contact
Maciej Jozwiak
T: +48 225 050 747 E: maciej.jozwiak@eversheds-sutherland.pl
Poland
Implementation of the European Directive on representative actions
Which national regulations transpose the directive into national law?
The current Belgian class action regime has been introduced by the Act of 28 March 2014 regarding collective redress and already meets most of the requirements set forth in the Directive (art. XVII.35 and f. Belgian Economic Code) At the end of 2022, no national draft bill transposing the class Ac-tion Directive is publicly available.
Who is entitled to bring a representative action?
Whether a group of consumers or group of SMEs which are aggrieved by a common cause may initiate a representative action; the group representative for claims of consumers must be either:
- An association representing consumers’ interests and aggregated by the Minister of Economic Affairs;
- An aggregated non for profit association which purpose is directly linked to the consumers’ interests in collective redress matters and that exists for more than three years at the moment the ac-tion is initiated;
- The public service of the Ombudsman;
- A representative body that is recognized by a member state of the European Union or the European Economic Area to act in collective redress cases.
the group representative for claims of SME must be either:
- An interprofessional association that defends the SME’s interests and that is aggregated by the government;
- An non for profit association which purpose is directly linked to SME’s interests in collective redress matters and that exists for more than three years at the moment the action is initiated;
- A representative body that is recognized by a member state of the European Union or the European Economic Area to act in collective redress cases.
What can be the subject matter of a representative action?
Representative actions are currently allowed for claims relating to the following matters:
- The Belgian economic code (Competition; pricing of products and services; Market practices and consumer protection; Payment and credit services; Safety of products and services; Intellectual property; Electronic economy services);
- Medicinal products;
- Supply of gas and electricity and organisation of the market of gas and electricity;
- Construction of houses and selling of houses to be build;
- Foodstuffs and consumers’ safety;
- Liability insurance for motor vehicles;
- Product liability;
- Data protection;
- Travel services per flight, train, ship or bus;
- Amicable recovery of consumer debts;
- Fraud relating to the mileage of cars;
- Consumer sales;
- Electronic communications;
- Protection of consumers with regard to radio transmission and broadcasting services;
- Free of charge securities/guarantees;
- Resale of tickets for events;
- Protection of consumers in relation to timeshare contracts, long-term vacation products, resale and exchange
- Abuse of dominant position of undertakings and agreement which impede free competition
Which individual consumers are represented in a representative action?
The group of claimants whether consumers or SMEs can choose to opt for an opt-in or opt-out system. The choice must be motivated and indicated in the petition. In case of claims regarding compensation of physical or moral collective damage or group members (SME or consumer) who do not have their main place of establishment or residence in Belgium, the opt-in system is always imposed. The Court will indicate in the receivability decision or in the the agreement of collective redress the timeframe in which group members can chose to be excluded from the group. In case of representative actions made by a group of consumers which have chosen the opt-in system the court will rule out on the timeframe which cannot be inferior to 30 days and superior to 3 months.
What will be the outcome of a representative action?
The court shall at first decide on the merits. If the parties do not settle on this basis, the court shall decide on the quantum and the modalities of the payment. Only the actual loss suffered will be compensated. In some cases, the court can set up a global amount of compensation, if necessary by subcategory of members, to be shared between the members of the group or an individualized amount, due to each consumer and/or to each SME. The terms of the compensation may vary according to the possible sub-categories of the group.
Are there particular rules for the disclosure of evidence?
No, the common Belgian law rules regarding the disclosure of evidence will apply.
Is third party funding possible?
Third party funding is not forbidden.
Conclusion
Amendments to Belgian law following the transposition of the Directive will likely be limited and refer, among others, to the below:
- Extension of the scope to 66 (instead of 17) applicable matters, covering areas such as data protection, travel and tourism, financial services, energy, telecommunications, health and environment.
- Consumer organizations can initiate class actions without individual consumers having suffered loss or damage and without malicious intent or negligence from the company.
- Creating a distinction between qualified entities entitled to bring domestic actions and those entitled to bring cross-border actions, the latter entities must satisfy harmonised criteria within the EU
Contact
Contact name here
T: + 44 (0) 1234 567 890 E: email@emailaddresshere.com
Contact name here
T: + 44 (0) 1234 567 890 E: email@emailaddresshere.com
© Eversheds Sutherland. All rights reserved. Eversheds Sutherland is a global provider of legal and other services operating through various separate and distinct legal entities. Eversheds Sutherland is the name and brand under which the members of Eversheds Sutherland Limited (Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP and Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP) and their respective controlled, managed and affiliated firms and the members of Eversheds Sutherland (Europe) Limited (each an "Eversheds Sutherland Entity" and together the "Eversheds Sutherland Entities") provide legal or other services to clients around the world. Eversheds Sutherland Entities are constituted and regulated in accordance with relevant local regulatory and legal requirements and operate in accordance with their locally registered names. The use of the name Eversheds Sutherland, is for description purposes only and does not imply that the Eversheds Sutherland Entities are in a partnership or are part of a global LLP. The responsibility for the provision of services to the client is defined in the terms of engagement between the instructed firm and the client.