The third edition of our leading textbook reflects the increasing prominence of environmental and human rights-based group actions, alongside developments in class action law since the second edition in 2022.
A third edition of our text on class actions in England and Wales, co-authored by HSF Kramer lawyers, has been published in the UK by Sweet & Maxwell. Edited by partners Damian Grave and Gregg Rowan, and knowledge counsel Maura McIntosh, it has been co-authored, in addition, by partners Greig Anderson, David Bennett, Neil Blake, Chris Bushell, Andrew Cannon, Simon Clarke, Nick Clayton, Julian Copeman, Kim Dietzel, Natasha Johnson, Rupert Lewis, Rachel Lidgate, Andrew Taggart, Alan Watts, Joe Williams and Stephen Wisking.
Class actions in England and Wales is a practical guide for practitioners involved in class action litigation in the courts of England and Wales. Previous editions of the book have been cited in two Supreme Court decisions, Lloyd v Google (2021) and AXA Insurance UK PLC v Commissioners of Inland Revenue (2026).
The new third edition reflects significant developments since the last edition in 2022, including landmark decisions from the Supreme Court and other appellate courts. It also includes three brand new chapters examining representative actions, tax disputes and arbitration, as well as a fully updated chapter examining the increasing prominence of environmental and human rights-based group actions in the courts of England and Wales.
The chapter on environmental and human rights-based group actions considers these claims in both in the domestic context and in the international context, in which such claims often arise against UK-domiciled parent companies in respect of the allegedly wrongful acts or omissions of a foreign subsidiary. Such cases have seen a dramatic increase in the English Courts over the past two decades, with the area becoming a new frontier of international litigation in this jurisdiction. The chapter canvasses key legal issues arising in such claims, including whether the law of negligence is an apt basis for international environmental or human-rights based claims, and whether the English court is the correct forum for such cases to be heard. Finally, the chapter reviews “soft law” and domestic legislation aimed at making UK-domiciled parent companies and their subsidiaries accountable and transparent in matters of alleged human rights abuses, and the implications of this developing regime on group actions in England and Wales.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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