This groundbreaking volume of The ANNALS provides the first overview of class action laws and related mechanisms around the world. It features 30 "country reports" by leading scholars, describing the adoption, characteristics and consequences to date of class action and non-class group litigation procedures ranging across North and Latin America, Australia, Asia and Europe. What were once seen as singular disputes between individuals (or between an individual and a corporation) are now viewed increasingly as group struggles against multinational corporations and other global institutions. This escalating trend of class actions and group litigation in private civil court cases extends well beyond the interest of lawyers. The social, economic, and political ramifications of permitting class actions are potentially vast—not just in the United States, but increasingly throughout the world, as in less than a decade the number of countries that permit representative litigation by private actors has multiplied dramatically. The United States has led the way in these developments. Adopted by the U.S. federal judiciary in 1966, group litigation made it easier for individuals to come forward to claim remedies, including money damages, on behalf of large groups of similarly affected individuals. Class actions dramatically shift the balance of power between the "haves" and the "have-nots." Yet as this trend has grown in the United States. and has taken hold around the globe, little analysis has been done on the costs or outcomes of group litigation – and even less is known about litigants' and lawyers' choices to prosecute class actions. There is impassioned debate over the cost and benefits of class litigation in the United States. Does it impose costs on economic factors that are larger than any benefit it creates – thereby diminishing social welfare? By placing responsibility for social reform and public policy in the hands of appointed judges or lay jurors – rather than elected legislators – does it produce outcomes that are not supported by the majority of citizens? In December 2007, Stanford Law School and the Oxford Centre for Socio-Legal Studies organized an international conference that studied the global spread of class actions and group litigation procedures. Scholars, jurists, and practitioners from around the world gathered to discuss and debate the use of group litigation procedures and initiate a research project on the evolution of class actions and aggregate litigation worldwide. This volume of The ANNALS is one result of that conference. Students, scholars and policymakers will find this anthology of reports to be an essential overview, providing a solid understanding of the effects of class actions around the globe.

Table of Contents:
The Globalization of Class Actions: An Overview - Deborah R. Hensler North America: Group and Aggregate Litigation in the United States - Nicholas M. Pace Canada - - Jasminka Kalajdzic, W. A. Bogart, Ian Matthews South America: Argentina - Héctor A. Mairal Brazil - Ada Pellegrini Grinover Chile - Martín Gubbins, Carla López Western Europe: European Union Legislation - Christopher Hodges Collective Redress in Austria - Georg E. Kodek Belgium - Matthias E. Storme, Evelyne Terryn England and Wales - Christopher Hodges France - Véronique Magnier Germany - Dietmar Baetge Italy - Elisabetta Silvestri The Netherlands - Ianika Tzankova, Daan Lunsingh Scheurleer Portugal - Henrique Sousa Antunes Spain - Pablo Gutiérrez de Cabiedes Switzerland - Samuel P. Baumgartner Central Europe: Poland - Magdalena Tulibacka Northern Europe: Class Action in Denmark - Erik Werlauff Finland - Klaus Viitanen Norway - Camilla Bernt Sweden - Per Henrik Lindblom Middle East: Israel - Amichai Magen, Peretz Segal Africa: South Africa - Clive Plasket Asia: China - Michael Palmer, Chao Xi Japan - Ikuo Sugawara Indonesia - Mas Achmad Santosa Malaysia: Principles and Procedural Obstacles - Yeow Choy Choong, Sujata Balan Group Litigation in Singapore - Jeffrey Pinsler Taiwan - Kuan-Ling Shen, Alex Yueh-Ping Yang Australia: Australia - Vince Morabito What Are People Trying to Do in Resolving Mass Issues? How Is It Going, and Where Are We Headed? - Christopher Hodges Quick Read Synopsis: The Globalization of Class Actions