CEE Legal Matters: Collective Civil Proceedings: Czech Court Delivers First Ruling in Mass Claim Case

Schoenherr experts Radim Obert and Egon Buriánek contributed an article for the 12.7th issue of CEE Legal Matters.

It sheds light on the Czech Act on Collective Civil Proceedings, effective from July 2024, allows joint claims by consumers and small entrepreneurs in one case, implementing EU Directive 2020/1828. Its main purpose is to improve access to justice for small claims while also enabling companies to resolve numerous disputes efficiently in a single proceeding. Class actions unfold in two stages, certification of admissibility and then consideration of the merits, with only registered non-profit “qualified plaintiffs” permitted to bring such actions. The first case, lodged against a children’s furniture manufacturer in November 2024, was certified and concluded by July 2025 with damages of CZK 1.6 million awarded to 56 consumers. Although only one case has been decided so far, the framework is expected to encourage more proceedings, particularly in consumer-facing industries.

Read the full article here. 

authors: Radim Obert, Egon Buriánek