Class actions in Argentina: standing to sue and adequacy of representation

Abstract

The paper describes how Argentine policy makers have thought about and enacted rules on collective litigation in the field of consumer and environmental protection. It presents an overview of the scope and content of those rules, with special focus on standing to sue and adequacy of representation. It also explains how the Supreme Court of Justice of Argentina has reacted when facing collective conflicts even in absence of adequate procedural rules to deal with collective conflicts. The case law of this high Court has provided relevant guidance to lower courts as well as to litigants regarding case management and constitutional requisites of collective litigation mechanisms. It has also summoned Congress due to the lack of a comprehensive and adequate procedural regulation in this field of law. In doing that, it has shaped a system quite similar to that enacted in the US Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. Almost 20 years after the constitutional amendment which has given constitutional status to collective standing to sue, it may be said that this kind of representative proceedings is just going through a developing and experimental phase in Argentina. Thanks to the role of the Supreme Court in the last 10 years, however, there are good reasons to have great expectations about what is coming up in the near future.