Public Interest Litigation in the Netherlands : Recent Developments in the Collective Enforcement of Consumer Rights

Dutch consumers have at their disposal a whole arsenal of consumer rights, most of them being of European origin. The problem lies in the enforcement of those rights. Individual enforcement alone does not suffice insofar as the costs of proceedings are often higher than the amount at stake. This deters the consumer from invoking his rights. What is more, most consumers are unaware of their rights, despite the many information duties; national courts are therefore obliged to apply European consumer law of their own motion. But European and national legislation also provide for collective enforcement and redress mechanisms. In the Netherlands, these mechanisms are implemented in both administrative and civil law. This paper outlines the Dutch mix of collective enforcement mechanisms that applies to consumer issues. It also explores the shortcomings of the existing mechanisms and assesses to what extent recent legal amendments have remedied those drawbacks and insufficiencies. Finally it sheds some light on the future of collective enforcement in the Netherlands and more specifically on the proposed change of law regarding collective compensatory redress (July 2014)