The Belgian legislature recently adopted a new act on private investigations ("Act")....more
On March 20, 2025, the UK's Serious Fraud Office ("SFO"), France's National Financial Prosecutor's Office ("PNF"), and the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland ("OAG") announced the creation of a new task force to...more
3/31/2025
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
France ,
Government Agencies ,
International Trade ,
Joint Task Force ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Switzerland ,
UK
Recent rulings indicate that it will be easier for cartel victims to pursue their claims in German courts by assigning them to a special purpose vehicle ("SPV"), which then litigates the combined claims as the sole plaintiff...more
Class action procedures vary greatly among jurisdictions. These differences include how developed the procedures are; the types of claims parties can bring; the parties that can represent classes; whether classes are...more
Dramatic changes to EU product liability rules are expected to drive an increase in litigation....more
12/2/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Corporate Counsel ,
EU ,
Manufacturers ,
New Regulations ,
Product Defects ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Software ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Strict Product Liability
Although class actions have been common in the United States for decades, they have not been as widely used in the rest of the world. The situation and risks remain in flux, however, as more countries have renewed momentum to...more
Although class actions have been common in the United States for decades, they have not been as widely used in the rest of the world. The situation and risks remain in flux, however, as more countries have renewed momentum to...more
Although class actions have been common in the United States for decades, they have not been as widely used in the rest of the world. The situation and risks remain in flux, however, as more countries have renewed momentum to...more
12/22/2023
/ Article III ,
Australia ,
Class Action ,
EU ,
France ,
Germany ,
International Litigation ,
Jurisdiction ,
Settlement ,
Standing ,
UK
In Short -
The Situation: The EU Product Liability Directive 85/374/EEC ("PLD") was adopted nearly 40 years ago and has remained almost unchanged since its inception....more
11/13/2023
/ Burden of Proof ,
Damages ,
Distributors ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Manufacturers ,
Medical Devices ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Product Defects ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retail Market ,
UK
Although class actions have been common in the United States for decades, they have not been as widely used in the rest of the world. The situation and risks remain in flux, however, as more countries have renewed momentum to...more
Class actions have been a feature of the litigation landscape in the USA for decades. Claimant-friendly procedures combined with an aggressive and well-funded plaintiffs’ bar have created fertile ground for these large,...more
10/5/2023
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Data Breach ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Litigation Funding ,
Technology Sector ,
UK
For the first time consumers' "collective interests," as opposed to "subjective rights," are explicitly recognized and protected by an ad hoc tool, the Representative Action, which has made significant changes in the domestic...more
The French National Assembly has passed a bill intended to promote the use of class actions in line with the new EU Representative Actions Directive....more
On October 1, 2020, the new Instruction on the Investigation and Prosecution of Foreign Corruption for the Dutch Public Prosecution Service ("DPPS") entered into force, indicating certain factors that play a role in...more
10/30/2020
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Liability ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Ethics ,
Foreign Official ,
New Guidance ,
Penal Code ,
Public Officials ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
White Collar Crimes
On September 4, 2020, a new Instruction for the Dutch Public Prosecution Service ("DPPS") entered into force, setting a framework for offering large settlements to defendants.
Main Elements of the Instruction -
The...more
The Situation: After a lukewarm start since their introduction in 2014, class actions in France have gradually seen their field broaden. Still, while the regime of class action is already quite comprehensive in France...more
The Situation: Currently, European law provides only for representative actions to stop or prohibit infringements of EU consumer law, but not for collective redress. As a result, significant differences exist in the...more
6/13/2018
/ Class Action ,
Collective Redress ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Cross-Border ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Member State ,
Proposed Legislation
The Situation: As agreed in the Coalition Contract of the current German government, the Federal Ministry of Justice officially presented the Act on Model Declaratory Proceedings ("Draft Act") on May 9, 2018, after protracted...more
The Situation: The recent EU Commission proposal for a tightening of consumer protection regulations envisages, in one of its pillars, to step up government enforcement of EU consumer rules, including by introducing a...more
On June 6, 2017, Belgium adopted legislation ("Law") transposing the EU directive on private antitrust damages (Directive 2014/104, ("Directive")). The Law became applicable on June 22, 2017, and is expected to boost private...more
8/5/2017
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Belgium ,
Burden of Proof ,
Collective Actions ,
Competition Authorities ,
Damages ,
EU ,
EU Damages Directive ,
Evidence ,
Irrebuttable Presumptions ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
Private Right of Action