Denmark
| The class action mechanism was introduced into Danish law on 1st January 2008, through an amendment to the Administration of Justice Act (Retsplejeloven, Chapter 23a), which regulates the rules of procedure before Danish courts. As a rule, class actions in Denmark are based on the opt-in model. However, in cases where the opt-in model would prove ineffective due to the small size of individual claims, it is possible to use the opt-out procedure.
Cases heard so far in class actions have mainly concerned services provided in the financial sector and the protection of minority shareholders in companies. In the spring of 2021, a class action was filed by Tesla car owners against Tesla Inc. The statement of claims was based on allegations of defects in the battery charging system, which made the cars less functional than the manufacturer had claimed. |
| Implementation of Directive 2020/1828 |
| Implementing act |
The Directive was implemented by the act: Lov om adgang til anlæggelse af gruppesøgsmål til beskyttelse af forbrugernes kollektive interesser (Act on Access to Class Actions for the Protection of Consumers’ Collective Interests) of 20th April 2023, which entered into force on 25th June 2023 |
| Type of procedure and model |
Class action (model opt-in/opt-out) |
| Qualified entity to bring an action |
For both opt-in and opt-out models: Consumer Ombudsman.
For opt-in models: group member, private association, or institution |
| Third-party funding |
Admissible; funding must not be provided in a way where there is a conflict of interests or be detrimental to the protection of consumer interests; the court may order disclosure of the sources of funding. |
| Facilities for consumers |
Liberalization of requirements for the selection of a group representative; more flexible procedural rules. |
| Other comments |
The previous state of law did not differ significantly from the provisions of the Directive |
Update: February/March 2025
