On The Group Litigation Protection Of Consumers' Interests

The issue of this paper is how to make the system of the group suit operate better inorder to give consumers more protection in the disputes about their rights and interests.At first, the author narrates the effective protection of the group suit for consumers'rights and interests. It refers from the social background of modern group suits'development, and expatiates the group suit's advantages compared with ordinary suitsand characteristics of disputes of consumers' rights and interests, as well as theimportance of providing protection for consumers' rights and interests, and discusses thespecial protection of the group suit because of its advantages for consumers.Then the author recommends the characteristics of courts' inquisition on the group suitand the reality of protection of consumers' rights and interests from the group suitincluding both facts condition and legal condition, and analyze the group suit withChinese character (namely representative lawsuit) about its legal structure and appliedconditions as well as all kinds of problems in application for giving protection toconsumers. At present the manner of the group suit have been more and more applied inall kinds of conditions, however, there are still many consumers whose rights andinterests are trespassed without plentiful protection.Subsequently, the author turns the eyeshot widely to the world, introducing two patternsof group suit, which are the United State's class action and Germany collective suit, andanalyzes their characteristics before recommending their usage for reference onprotection of consumers' rights and interests.At last, after considering Chinese social circumstances and using for reference of theUnited State's class action and Germany collective suit, the author puts forward her ownideas on how to improve the protection on consumers from the group suit: embody therule of law (especially some important procedures such as domination, the start-upprocedure, calculation of compensation, and so on) to strengthen the maneuverability ofthe representative suit;encourage and support the group suit by abolishing the registerprocedure of confirming rights and taking spirit manner;extend the power ofrepresentatives of suit when protect group members' rights and interests moreeffectively in order to improve the efficiency of the suit and guarantee therepresentatives carrying out their duty better as well as keeping with the intention oflawmaking;meliorate the outside system of the group suit such as improving the courts'judicatory level and consumers' ability, attaching importance to consumers' organization,and so on. The author believe that as the group suit gets meliorated, it will provideconsumers with better protection and bring its social value into play.