33 Amendments of Laura FERRARA related to 2018/0089(COD)
Amendment 40 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) The purpose of this Directive is to enable qualified entities, which represent the collective interest of consumers, to seek remedy through representative actions against infringements of provisions of Union law. The qualified entities should be able to ask for stopping or prohibiting an infringement, for confirming that an infringement took place and to seek redress, such as compensation, repair or price reducimbursement of the price paid, repair, replacement, removal, price reduction or contract termination as available under national laws.
Amendment 45 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) The purpose of this Directive is to enable qualified entities, which represent the collective interest of consumers, to seek remedy through representative actions against infringements of provisions of Union law. The qualified entities should be able to ask for stopping or prohibiting an infringement, for confirming that an infringement took place and to seek redress, such as compensation, repair or price reducimbursement of the price paid, repair, replacement, removal, price reduction or contract termination as available under national laws.
Amendment 70 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) The qualified entity initiating the representative action under this Directive should be a party to the proceedings. Consumers concerned by the infringement should have adequate opportunities to influence the selection of the lawyers who will represent them in court, to assess their independence and to benefit from the relevant outcomes of the representative action. Injunction orders issued under this Directive should be without prejudice to individual actions brought by consumers harmed by the practice subject to the injunction order.
Amendment 74 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) Qualified entities should be able to seek measures aimed at eliminating the continuing effects of the infringement. These measures should take the form of a redress order obligating the trader to provide for, inter alia, compensation, repair, replacement, removal, price reduction, contract termination or reimbursement of the price paid, as appropriate and as available under national laws.
Amendment 82 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) Member States should be allowed to decide whether their court or national authority seized of a representative action for redress may exceptionally issue, instead of a redress order, a declaratory decision regarding the liability of the trader towards the consumers harmed by an infringement which could be directly relied upon in subsequent redress actions by individual consumers. This possibility should be reserved to duly justified cases where the quantification of the individual redress to be attributed to each of the consumer concerned by the representative action is complex and it would be inefficient to carry it out within the representative action. Declaratory decisions should not be issued in situations which are not complex and in particular where consumers concerned are identifiable and where the consumers have suffered a comparable harm in relation to a period of time or a purchase. Similarly, declaratory decisions should not be issued where the amount of loss suffered by each of the individual consumers is so small that individual consumers are unlikely to claim for individual redress. The court or the national authority should duly motivate its recourse to a declaratory decision instead of a redress order in a particular case.
Amendment 90 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 21
Recital 21
(21) In low-value cases most consumers are unlikely to take action in order to enforce their rights because the efforts would outweigh the individual benefits. However, if the same practice concerns a number of consumers, the aggregated loss may be significant. In such cases, a court or authority may consider that it is disproportionate to distribute the funds back to the consumers concerned, for example bet is therefore desirable that consumers should in every cause it is too onerous or impracticable. Therefore the funds received as redress through representative actions would better serve the purposes of the protection of collective interests ofobtain the compensation due and that the charges for the redistribution of funds to the consumers anconcerned should be directed to a relevant public purpose, such as a consumer legal aid fund, awareness campaigns or consumer movborne by the traders who committed the infringements.
Amendment 94 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) Measures aimed at eliminating the continuing effects of the infringement may be sought only on the basis of a final decision, establishing an infringement of Union law covered by the scope of this Directive harming collective interest of consumers, including a final injunction order issued within the representative action. In particular, measures eliminating the continuing effects of the infringement may be sought on the basis of final decisions of a court or administrative authority in the context of enforcement activities regulated by Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2017 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004.32 . _________________ 32. Although the decision on representative actions can be taken after having established that a practice constitutes a violation of Union law, nonetheless in order not to prolong procedures and not to increase the risk that consumers may lose evidence which supports their case and may cease to have an interest in the case, actions can also be initiated before a final decision is handed down by a court or administrative authority. _________________ 32 OJ L 345, 27.12.2017. OJ L 345, 27.12.2017.
Amendment 97 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 24
Recital 24
(24) This Directive does not replace existing national collective redress mechanisms. Taking into account their legal traditions, it leaves it to the discretion of the Member States whether to design the representative action set out by this Directive as a part of an existing or future collective redress mechanism or as an alternative to these mechanisms, insofar as the national mechanism complies with the modalities setinimum standards established by this Directive.
Amendment 102 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) The qualified entity initiating the representative action under this Directive should be a party to the proceedings. Consumers concerned by the infringement should have adequate opportunities to influence the selection of the lawyers who will represent them in court, to assess their independence and to benefit from the relevant outcomes of the representative action. Injunction orders issued under this Directive should be without prejudice to individual actions brought by consumers harmed by the practice subject to the injunction order.
Amendment 107 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) Qualified entities should be able to seek measures aimed at eliminating the continuing effects of the infringement. These measures should take the form of a redress order obligating the trader to provide for, inter alia, compensation, repair, replacement, removal, price reduction, contract termination or reimbursement of the price paid, as appropriate and as available under national laws.
Amendment 118 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) Member States should be allowed to decide whether their court or national authority seized of a representative action for redress may exceptionally issue, instead of a redress order, a declaratory decision regarding the liability of the trader towards the consumers harmed by an infringement which could be directly relied upon in subsequent redress actions by individual consumers. This possibility should be reserved to duly justified cases where the quantification of the individual redress to be attributed to each of the consumer concerned by the representative action is complex and it would be inefficient to carry it out within the representative action. Declaratory decisions should not be issued in situations which are not complex and in particular where consumers concerned are identifiable and where the consumers have suffered a comparable harm in relation to a period of time or a purchase. Similarly, declaratory decisions should not be issued where the amount of loss suffered by each of the individual consumers is so small that individual consumers are unlikely to claim for individual redress. The court or the national authority should duly motivate its recourse to a declaratory decision instead of a redress order in a particular case.
Amendment 129 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 21
Recital 21
(21) In low-value cases most consumers are unlikely to take action in order to enforce their rights because the efforts would outweigh the individual benefits. However, if the same practice concerns a number of consumers, the aggregated loss may be significant. In such cases, a court or authority may consider that it is disproportionate to distribute the funds back to the consumers concerned, for example because it is too onerous or impracticable. ThereConsumers should therefore in every case obtain the compensation due and the charges fore the funds received as redress through representative actions would better serve the purposes of the protection of collective interests of consumers and should be directed to a relevant public purpose, such as a consumer legal aid fund, awareness campaigns or consumer movredistribution of funds to the consumers concerned should be borne by the traders who committed the infringements.
Amendment 134 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 2
Article 1 – paragraph 2
2. This Directive shall not prevent Member States from adopting or maintaining in force provisions designed to grant qualified entities or any other persons concerned other procedural means to bring actions aimed at thegreater protection of the collective interests of consumers at national level than those provided for in this Directive.
Amendment 135 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) Measures aimed at eliminating the continuing effects of the infringement may be sought only on the basis of a final decision, establishing an infringement of Union law covered by the scope of this Directive harming collective interest of consumers, including a final injunction order issued within the representative action. In particular, measures eliminating the continuing effects of the infringement may be sought on the basis of final decisions of a court or administrative authority in the context of enforcement activities regulated by Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2017 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2006/200432. _________________ 32Although the decision on representative actions can be taken after having established that a practice constitutes a violation of Union law, nonetheless in order not to prolong procedures and not to increase the risk that consumers may lose evidence which supports their case and may cease to have an interest in the case, actions can also be initiated before a final decision is handed down by a court or administrative authority. _________________ 32 OJ L 345, 27.12.2017. OJ L 345, 27.12.2017.
Amendment 143 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 24
Recital 24
(24) This Directive does not replace existing national collective redress mechanisms. Taking into account their legal traditions, it leaves it to the discretion of the Member States whether to design the representative action set out by this Directive as a part of an existing or future collective redress mechanism or as an alternative to these mechanisms, insofar as the national mechanism complies with the modalities setinimum standards established by this Directive.
Amendment 164 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point c a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point c a (new)
(ca) it publishes in detail the provenance of the funds it receives and the representative actions that it pursues.
Amendment 200 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 3
Article 5 – paragraph 3
3. Member States shall ensure that qualified entities are entitled to bring representative actions seeking measures eliminating the continuing effects of the infringement. TIn order to avoid prolonging the procedures, these measures shallmay also be sought on the basis of any final decisionseparately from measures whose purpose is to establishing that a practice constitutes an infringement of Union law listed in Annex I harming collective interests of consumers, including a final injunction order referred to in paragraph (2)(b).
Amendment 210 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 2
Article 1 – paragraph 2
2. This Directive shall not prevent Member States from adopting or maintaining in force provisions designed to grant qualified entities or any other persons concerned other procedural means to bring actions aimed at thegreater protection of the collective interests of consumers at national level than those provided for in this Directive.
Amendment 215 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
For the purposes of Article 5(3), Member States shall ensure that qualified entities are entitled to bring representative actions seeking a redress order, which obligates the trader to provide for, inter alia, compensation, repair, replacement, removal, price reduction, contract termination or reimbursement of the price paid, as appropriate. A Member State may require the mandate of the individual consumers concerned before a declaratory decision is made or a redress order is issued.
Amendment 226 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 2
Article 6 – paragraph 2
2. By derogation to paragraph 1, Member States may empower a court or administrative authority to issue, instead of a redress order,in which, on the date of entry into force of this Directive, a court or administrative authority is empowered to issue a declaratory decision regarding the liability of the trader towards the consumers harmed by an infringement of Union law listed in Annex I, may continue to apply the existing procedural arrangements only in duly justified cases where, due to the characteristics of the individual harm to the consumers concerned the quantification of individual redress is complex. (This amendment applies throughout the text. Adopting it will necessitate corresponding changes throughout.)
Amendment 232 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 3 – point b
Article 6 – paragraph 3 – point b
Amendment 248 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 1
1. The qualified entity seeking a redress order as referred in Article 6(1) shall declare in detail at an early stage of the action the source of the funds used for its activity in general and the funds that it uses to support the action. It shall demonstrate that it has sufficient financial resources to represent the best interests of the consumers concerned and to meet any adverse costs should the action fail.
Amendment 254 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point b a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point b a (new)
(ba) to receive any type of financial benefit deriving from the representative action, other than to cover legal costs.
Amendment 264 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 1
Article 9 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that the court or administrative authority shall require the infringing trader to inform affected consumers at its expense about the final decisions providing for measures referred to in Articles 5 and 6, and the approved settlements referred to in Article 8, by means appropriate to the circumstance of the case and within specified time limits, including, where appropriate, through notifying all consumers concerned individually. In addition to the channels of the trader who committed the infringement, this information may also be provided via relevant public authority channels or through the channels of designated qualified entities, in every case at the expense of the trader who committed the infringement.
Amendment 271 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point c a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point c a (new)
(ca) it publishes in detail the provenance of the funds it receives and the representative actions that it pursues.
Amendment 297 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 2
Article 18 – paragraph 2
Amendment 324 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 3
Article 5 – paragraph 3
3. Member States shall ensure that qualified entities are entitled to bring representative actions seeking measures eliminating the continuing effects of the infringement. TIn order to avoid prolonging the procedures, these measures shallmay also be sought on the basis of any final decisionseparately from measures whose purpose is to establishing that a practice constitutes an infringement of Union law listed in Annex I harming collective interests of consumers, including a final injunction order referred to in paragraph (2)(b).
Amendment 341 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
For the purposes of Article 5(3), Member States shall ensure that qualified entities are entitled to bring representative actions seeking a redress order, which obligates the trader to provide for, inter alia, compensation, repair, replacement, removal, price reduction, contract termination or reimbursement of the price paid, as appropriate. A Member State may require the mandate of the individual consumers concerned before a declaratory decision is made or a redress order is issued.
Amendment 354 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 2
Article 6 – paragraph 2
2. By derogation to paragraph 1, Member States may empower a court or administrative authority to issue, instead of a redress order,in which, on the date of entry into force of this Directive, a court or administrative authority is empowered to issue a declaratory decision regarding the liability of the trader towards the consumers harmed by an infringement of Union law listed in Annex I, may continue to apply the existing procedural arrangements only in duly justified cases where, due to the characteristics of the individual harm to the consumers concerned the quantification of individual redress is complex. (This amendment applies throughout the text. Adopting it will necessitate corresponding changes throughout.)
Amendment 369 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 3 – point b
Article 6 – paragraph 3 – point b
(b) consumers have suffered a small amount of loss and it would be disproportionate to distribute the redress to them. In such cases, Member States shall ensure that the mandate of the individual consumers concerned is not required. The redress shall be directed to a public purpose serving the collective interests of consumers.deleted
Amendment 387 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 1
1. The qualified entity seeking a redress order as referred in Article 6(1) shall declare in detail at an early stage of the action the source of the funds used for its activity in general and the funds that it uses to support the action. It shall demonstrate that it has sufficient financial resources to represent the best interests of the consumers concerned and to meet any adverse costs should the action fail.
Amendment 400 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point b a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point b a (new)
(ba) to receive any type of financial benefit deriving from the representative action, other than to cover legal costs.
Amendment 432 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 1
Article 9 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall ensure that the court or administrative authority shall require the infringing trader to inform affected consumers at its expense about the final decisions providing for measures referred to in Articles 5 and 6, and the approved settlements referred to in Article 8, by means appropriate to the circumstance of the case and within specified time limits, including, where appropriate, through notifying all consumers concerned individually. In addition to the channels of the trader who committed the infringement, this information may also be provided via relevant public authority channels or through the channels of designated qualified entities, in every case at the expense of the trader who committed the infringement.