Blast from the Past – Consumer Collective Redress in Serbia

Abstract

This chapter analyses the effects that legislative changes in the area of consumer collective redress have on the right to the fair trial of consumers in the Republic of Serbia. The most remarkable change was the decision of the Constitutional Court by which the provisions on the organisational claim were repealed as unconstitutional. One of the reasons for such a decision is the procedural law tradition, which does not include collective redress. This chapter examines if this ‘blast from the past’ is appropriately interpreted and shows that this approach was not suitable and, consequently, led to procedural inadequacies. The primary symptom of procedural inadequacies is a massive influx of mass claims before Serbian courts. Furthermore, the effects of these legislative changes on the consumer’s access to justice are analysed. The results show that the collectivisation of consumer protection is not appropriately regulated. Finally, this has affected the relationship between consumers and traders, so that the weaker party became weaker. Apart from that, there are no effective procedural mechanisms to deter traders from the collective infringement of consumer rights and interests.