Class actions in Russia

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Russia has mechanisms for seeking collective redress on an “opt-in” basis. Members must join a claim before the parties’ oral pleadings have been finalised (i.e., the stage of the proceedings after the evaluation of evidence and before the judicial act is issued). In addition, there is a mechanism for sending a proposal to non-appearing members of the class to join the proceedings, and such members may either join the action, reject or ignore the proposal.

The members of the class which have not participated in the class action may bring their own action with identical claims. However, if the individual claims differ from the findings of the court in the class action, the court will proceed to consider the individual claims. 

In Russia, a class action may be brought before both commercial courts, which hear business related disputes, and the courts of common jurisdiction.

Russian procedural law has established an “opt-out” model of class actions. This is based on the fact that the definition of a member of the class indicates “independence from joining the action”. 

In Russia, there are a number of other administrative mechanisms, such as a public organisation’s action to protect the rights and interests of consumers, or a prosecutor’s petition to defend the general public where there is no requirement to establish the exact number of members in the class. However, such actions are not typical class actions. They mainly relate to challenges to laws, urban landscaping, compliance with environmental regulations, urban-planning and health and safety standards. These actions do not result in damages being paid to the persons who were affected by the wrongdoing. If those persons wish to recover damages, they must bring their own claims.

In general, any member of the class may bring the class action proceedings before the court. However, the statements of other members supporting the proceedings must be attached to the claim. The law also provides that the minimum number of joining members in the proceedings is: twenty members for courts of general jurisdiction and five members for commercial courts. The suit must also identify the scope of persons who may join the class action and the grounds for joining it. 

A class action is brought before a court in the jurisdiction of the defendant's location, regardless of the nature of the dispute. This contrasts with the broader approach to jurisdiction under, for example, a unitary consumer protection claim that may be considered at the consumer's residence and the location of the majority of the claimants.

At present, class actions are not common in Russia.

The most recent changes to the procedural law in relation to class actions were introduced in the summer of 2019 allowing for class actions to be brought not only by organisations, but also by individuals. Some experts expected a rise in class actions related to consumer protection, compensation for harm, banking, and the housing and utilities sectors. However, there has not been a significant increase in the number of class actions during the 18 months since the law came into force. Class actions are still rare, and largely end in the dismissal of the claim.

The law does not restrict class actions to any type of claim, scope of regulation, or cause of action. For a class action to be considered, it is sufficient to meet the statutory criteria. The members of the class must have a common defendant, common or homogeneous rights and interests, similar factual claims and seeking the same remedy.

Given that procedural law contains no special restrictions on class actions, all appropriate remedies are available, including damages and injunctive relief.

Russian law provides for two types of damages that may be recovered from the defendant: actual damage (i.e., any expenses that have been or would be incurred by a person whose right has been breached, or expenses incurred to restore their right, including expenses related to the loss of or damage to their property) and loss of profit (i.e., unearned income that the person would have received under normal conditions had their right not been breached). Both types of damages are compensatory by their nature.

In Russia, it is almost impossible to recover punitive damages in their classical form. All damages are generally estimated on a compensatory basis. The law occasionally allows recovering "compensation in excess of compensation for harm" but in practice such cases are extremely rare.

Circumstances in which damages may be awarded on a non-compensatory basis include where there is: (i) an unreasonably protracted trial (i.e., if the defendant has intentionally delayed the case as long as possible); (ii) moral harm (note that Russian courts are reluctant to award such a remedy and, as a rule, extremely small amounts are recovered from offenders); (iii) collection of income derived from an offence (similar to the concept of restitutionary damages); (iv) liquidated and contractual damages. 

Not applicable.

Russian procedural law does not contain any special rules for approving amicable settlements in class actions. 

According to the law, the class representative (i.e., normally a member of the class authorised by the other members to represent them) enjoys all of the procedural rights of the claimant, including the right to enter into an amicable settlement. The law does not contain any special rules requiring an amicable settlement to be approved by all members of the class, except for class actions in corporate disputes.

As a general rule, an amicable settlement is approved by the court unless it is contrary to the law or violates the rights and legitimate interests of others.

Other than the situation described in Question 3, the law does not contain any special jurisdiction rules for class actions. There are also no territorial limitations on who may be a member of the class.

The following statutory criteria must be met for a class action:

1. there is a common defendant; 
2. there are common or homogeneous rights and interests between the members of the class;
3. the claims have similar factual circumstances; and 
4. members of the class are seeking the same remedy.

In general, any member of the group of claimants may bring the class action before the court, but the statements of other members joining the class action must be attached to the claim. 

In order to initiate a class action, the court requires that the following minimum number of members from the class join the action: twenty members for courts of general jurisdiction and five members for commercial courts. 

The claim must also identify the scope of the class and the grounds under which members can join. 

No, there are no specialist courts for class actions in Russia. Class actions are heard by commercial courts, which are competent to consider disputes arising through business operations, and by courts of general jurisdiction.

No, there are no special discovery and disclosure rules or restrictions on class actions.

The rules for appealing judicial acts issued by the courts of first instance in class actions are identical to the general rules for appeals.

Formally, class action waivers are not prohibited, and there is no precedent in this respect. However, we believe that courts will not recognise these waivers as lawful since they significantly limit the rights of claimants.

For a long time, a contingency fee arrangement, as a form of payment of legal fees, was neither used by lawyers nor legally recognised in Russia. 

However, starting in early 2020, contingency fee agreements have been allowed for civil law disputes and may be used by lawyers recognised as attorneys, subject to agreement with the client. Accordingly, the provision of legal services on a contingency fee basis is allowed for class actions if the claimants are represented by an attorney.  In proceedings where the claimants are represented by lawyers with higher legal education, but who are not recognised as attorneys, contingency fee agreements will not be possible.

As a general rule, the losing party must pay the state costs. Legal costs may be recovered from the losing party by filing an appropriate application containing the calculation of the recoverable amount, confirmation of expenses, and other relevant calculations. The portion of legal costs that may currently be recovered by the winning party in Russian courts is extremely small.

Litigation funding is a new mechanism for Russia. However, it is rapidly becoming more and more popular in the country.

The first high-profile class action under the new rules in Russia, Consumers vs. Femme Fatal Rus, received financing through litigation funding. As published online on a platform for claimants, investors, and lawyers, a number of investor-financed class actions are currently in the pipeline.

See the Overview of the Representative Actions Directive >>

For more information on European Class Actions, please download our annual report: 

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European Class Action Report 2023

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