Some Issues Regarding Implementation of a Group Action in Civil Proceeding

The author draws a special attention to the necessity to implement a group action as an effective modern mean for the protection of rights and legal interests of individuals and legal entities. The influence of disposition and proportionality principles in group action proceeding has been traced. It is seen that each person who is included in the group of plaintiffs is not deprived of the free exercise of his/her procedural rights, but can use them based on his/her discretion through representative opportunities which are inherent to the plaintiff-initiator acting on behalf of him/her. The court as a judiciary body ensures compliance with the principle of proportionality between public and private interests. It is proved by a specific procedure for certification of a group action which allows to check the existence of two main aspects which are the following: an opportunity to submit a group action in one or another case and reasonability to try the case using the procedure of group action proceeding. The author also tries to prove advantages of group action by comparing it with the institute of procedural joint participation in cases when the number of plaintiffs is extremely high for an appropriate, comprehensive and full trial on the merits. It has been recognized that there are such spheres of legal relationship, at the modern stage of development, the subjects of which are bearers of congeneric rights which are exercised the same way. In this regard, the author thinks that in the event of violation of these rights it is essential to apply a group action when there are so many plaintiffs that it is necessary to apply group action proceeding to save time and money. Besides, taking into account development of pre-trial dispute resolution the institute of settlement agreement and the institute of settlement of the dispute with participation of the judge can be effective and can contribute to the compromise and agreement regarding the parties’ positions. In conclusion it has been proposed to combine theoretical results in a separate law on amendments to the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine.