The New German Act on a Collective Redress Mechanism for Consumer Claims

On July 12, 2018, the German Bundespräsident promul­ga­ted the Act on the Introduction of a Collective Redress Me­chanism for Consumer Claims (Gesetz zur Einführung einer zivilprozessualen Musterfeststellungsklage), and it be­came effective on November 1, 2018.

The purpose of the Act is to improve the enforcement of consumer rights by enabling certain quali­fied consumer protection associa­tions to bring a repre­sen­tative action on behalf of at least ten con­sumers and obtain declaratory rulings on the existen­ce of certain elements of a claim, or the absence of certain bars to a claim.  These declaratory rulings serve as a basis for a settlement of the claims to be concluded between the con­sumer and the defen­dant business, or for further litigation between them.