Study On The Group Litigation Of Consumers

In the first Chapter of this thesis, it compares four ways of settling consumer dissensions, which are negotiation between customer and proprietor, intermediation by the Consumer Association, appeal to administration department and arbitration, and finds that they are all unfit to be the main means to settle consumer group dissensions. Further more, it concludes the advantages of group litigation to shoulder this part. Because group litigation is accord with the two characteristics of consumer group dissensions, which are be identical in species and be small in the quantity of money while be large in the quantity of consumers, and it is propitious to give a speedy and economical settlement, as well as to achieve a unanimous consequence and to maintain the public interest.In the second Chapter, it studies on three kind of typical group litigation systems of consumers in a comparative way, including the class action in America, the group litigation in Germany and the selective litigation in Japan. Considering of the diversity in the development of the three systems and the different significance for China to treat the three systems, it analyses with dissimilar emphasis on the three, then gets several conclusions. firstly, class action benefits the realization of public interest, however, it has a deep relationship with the social circumstance in America. Secondly, the group litigation in Germany pays concentrate attention to the public interest, in spite of its narrow applicable area, that provides a special path to settle consumer group dissensions. Thirdly, the dissensions are not helpful to exert the social function of group litigation, leading itself to keep on reforming.the third Chapter and the fourth Chapter research on the group litigation of consumers in our country , separately from the practical angle and the theoretic angle. In judicial practice, consumers have an intense passion to maintain their rights, while contrastively, the judicial departments appear an extremely cold attitude toward the consumer group litigation. They not only never lay a finger on the special system of representative litigation to deal with consumer group dissensions, but also create a suit of new system called Series Cases, which has never got a high praise. An important reason for the judicial departments'reaction is that there are deficiencies in representative litigation system itself. On the one hand, the legislators had a warp in the essence and the function of the representative litigation system, on the other hand, the representative litigation system breaches the traditional theory of civil procedure, but at the same time, it have not deal well with the specific regulations relative with it. as a result, it becomes an un-practicable system.The last Chapter summarizes the above and then brings forward six aspects to make the Chinese group litigation system of consumers perfect. firstly, introduce the group litigation theory abroad into China step by step. Secondly, encourage consumers to take part in group litigations. Thirdly, legislate on the group litigation of consumers in both entity laws and procedure laws. Fourthly, make sufficient effect of the Consumer Association in the settlement of consumer group dissensions, endue it with the right to bring an group litigation like Germany and set the intermediation by the Consumer Association as the former procedure to deal with consumer group dissensions. fifthly, enrich the specific regulations of representative litigation from eight aspects. Sixthly, improve the other procedural systems to match with the development of group litigation of consumers.