Class actions in Portugal

Abstract

Even eighteen years after the implementation of Law 83/95, of August 31, about the rights of participation in class action litigation in Portugal, there is no sufficient evidence of its applicability. Contrarily to what is observed in other countries as the United States and Brazil it seems that in Portugal, there is no interest of the several parties that would be involved in a class action litigation to obtain information or inform other parties relatively to the main procedures on it and to induce the litigation. The aim of this dissertation is to understand what may be influencing class action litigation in Portugal. One begins with the economic rationale for class action litigation. One introduces its main benefits and costs, when compared to other litigation mechanisms and the main procedural mechanisms generally influencing the litigation. Then, one examines the Portuguese case, having into account not only the influence of legislation but also of other extra-legal factors which may be influencing Portuguese society and the number of class action litigation cases in Portuguese courts. This last part is supported by several interviews to the main parties who would be involved in class action litigation in the country. To do this analysis one focus on class action litigations related with consumer protection.

Date of Award	2013
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Nuno Garoupa (Supervisor) & Teresa Lloyd-Braga (Co-Supervisor)