Editing Class action (section)

===Austria===
The [[Civil procedure code of Austria|Austrian Code of Civil Procedure]] ({{lang|de|Zivilprozessordnung}}&nbsp;– ZPO) does not provide for a special proceeding for complex class-action litigation. However, Austrian consumer organizations ({{lang|de|Verein für Konsumenteninformation}} (VKI) and the Federal Chamber of Labour / {{lang|de|Bundesarbeitskammer}}) have brought claims on behalf of hundreds or even thousands of consumers. In these cases, the individual consumers assigned their claims to one entity, who has then brought an ordinary (two-party) lawsuit over the assigned claims. The monetary benefits were redistributed among the class. This technique, labeled as "class action Austrian style", allows for a significant reduction of overall costs. The [[Austrian Supreme Court]], in a judgment, confirmed the legal admissibility of these lawsuits under the condition that all claims are essentially based on the same grounds.

The [[Austrian Parliament]] unanimously requested the [[Federal Ministry of Justice (Austria)|Austrian Federal Minister for Justice]] to examine the possibility of new legislation providing for a cost-effective and appropriate way to deal with mass claims. Together with the [[List of Ministers of Social Affairs (Austria)|Austrian Ministry for Social Security, Generations and Consumer Protection]], the Justice Ministry opened the discussion with a conference held in Vienna in June 2005. With the aid of a group of experts from many fields, the Justice Ministry began drafting the new law in September 2005. With the individual positions varying greatly, a political consensus could not be reached.<ref>{{cite conference |url=http://eu2006.bmsg.gv.at/cms/eu2006/attachments/4/2/7/CH0604/CMS1133429025309/klauser.pdf |title=Group litigation in Austria |first=Alexander |last=Klauser |conference=Effective Legal Redress – The Consumer Protection Instruments of Actions for Injunction and Group Damages Action |location=Vienna, Austria |date=24 February 2006 |access-date=2006-07-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060811044842/http://eu2006.bmsg.gv.at/cms/eu2006/attachments/4/2/7/CH0604/CMS1133429025309/klauser.pdf |archive-date=2006-08-11 }}</ref>