UK government consults on measures to speed up and simplify competition class actions regime

The government is consulting on a package of reforms to the opt-out collective proceedings (CPO) regime in the Competition Appeal Tribunal, as well as procedures for regulatory appeals and competition enforcement. This follows a call for evidence last year on the CPO regime. The key proposals for opt-out collective proceedings include:

• Amendments to the threshold for certification, which the government considers to be too low;
• Provisions relating to the funding of claims, including to allow damages-based agreements (which are currently prohibited for opt-out claims); 
• Changes to the costs rules, including to require budgets from both parties following certification; and
• New powers to encourage or require mediation and a new regime for settlement offers with automatic costs consequences.

For more information see this post on our Competition Notes blog.