Class action litigation

ICC believes that implementing class action systems has adverse consequences for business and consumers that outweigh the perceived benefit to society. The spread of class action lawsuits risks an increase in speculative lawsuits needlessly costing global business time, resources and exposure to “legal blackmail”. Such litigation results in higher costs for companies and ultimately higher prices for consumers. Regulators have a number of other policy options that could attain the desired benefits without these adverse effects including for example joinder of claims and the use of pilot cases. Since some countries currently consider the adoption of class action systems based on that of the United States, ICC is of the view that both the costs and desired benefits of multi-party disputes should be examined.

Business acknowledges that enabling people that have suffered from wrongdoing to get fair compensation for their damages is a fundamental principle in any civilized society and that wrongdoers should be prevented from being able to escape justice when doing small amounts of harm to many and thereby minimizing the risk that anybody will hold them accountable for their illegal conduct. Business also recognizes that legislators are seeking to achieve the abovementioned goals in the most efficient manner. It is equally fundamental, however, that the process is just and efficient for both plaintiff(s) and defendant(s), with respect to the allocation of cost and time.

The potential misuse and abuse of class actions can easily undermine this balance.