Class Actions and Government

Examines the role of government in class actions, as an enabler and designer of the relevant legislation, as a potential funder of class actions, as legislative 'gate-keeper' against non-resident class member participation, as a potential class member or representative claimant, as a potential financial beneficiary, and as a potential defendant.

The relationship between class actions and government makes for a nuanced and fascinating study. Government sets the scene by implementing and designing the regime, by choosing whether to act as a seed-funder for the regime, and by deciding to what extent it should regulate the regime against worldwide classes being litigated on its doorstep. It can then become a key player in the litigation itself. Government may be a representative claimant bringing the action, or a class member, or a potential financial beneficiary. Most commonly of all, it may be a defendant, being sued under the very regime which it enacted into law. With numerous opt-out class action regimes around the common law world in place, and others on the horizon, the book takes a comparative perspective throughout, and concludes with a series of recommendations, drawn from that comparative analysis of government''s intricate interplay with class actions.