The Law Society Council adopted a formal policy on class actions last week.


The council agreed that any new collective redress procedures, such as class actions, should be piloted before they are introduced, and not be restricted to consumers.



The policy states that, in any collective redress system, there should be a mechanism allowing claims to be resolved without litigation, but still be subject to court approval. This would prevent class actions being 'catapulted' into legal proceedings unnecessarily. It also said the judiciary should act as gatekeepers, keeping vexatious claims out of the courts.



The policy follows on from a membership forum to discuss the issues around collective redress.



Law Society civil litigation policy adviser Martin Heskins said: 'The forum concluded there was a definite need for collective redress actions in the UK, but there was also a need for reform.'



The Law Society's legal affairs and policy board, building on the views of the membership forum, formulated the policy, which was agreed by the council last week.



Jonathan Rayner