Class members in collective proceedings: searching for an optimum model of class members’ participation

This paper focuses on the important topic of collective actions, namely the participation of class members in the collective proceedings. The article essentially asks whether class members should express their consent to take part in the collective action, whether such consent shall be explicit and when should it be given. In the first part, the article analyses the different aspects of class members’ status, setting out the different options and elaborating on their advantages and disadvantages. The paper focuses primarily on the methods of opt-in and opt-out. This is followed by an analysis of EU law, the law of selected European jurisdictions and also Model European Rules on Civil Procedure. In the following chapter, the article describes the development of this issue in the Czech legislation, focusing on the current proposal for the collective proceedings act. The last chapter contains the final recommendation as to what the author believes the optimal method should look like. The author suggests there should be a differentiated approach to injunctive and redress measures since each of these measures requires different optimal solution.