This book charts the transformative shifts in techniques that seek to deliver collective redress, especially for mass consumer claims in Europe. It shows how traditional approaches of class litigation (old technology) have been eclipsed by the new technology of regulatory redress techniques and consumer ombudsmen.
It describes a series of these techniques, each illustrated by leading examples taken from a 2016 pan-EU research project. It then undertakes a comparative evaluation of each technique against key criteria, such as effective outcomes, speed, and cost. The book reveals major transformations in European legal systems, shows the overriding need to view legal systems from fresh viewpoints, and to devise a new integrated model.

Christopher Hodges is Professor of Justice Systems, Supernumerary Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford, and Head of the Swiss Re Research Programme on Civil Justice Systems at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Oxford.

Stefaan Voet is Associate Professor at the University of Leuven and a host professor at the University of Hasselt in Belgium.