Abstract:
This paper examines New Zealand’s representative action rule while considering overseas statutory class action regimes. The paper proposes that New Zealand replace the current representative action rule with a legislative framework modelled on Australia’s federal statutory class action regime. The main argument advanced in this paper is that the simplicity of r 4.24 causes interpretation issues and procedural uncertainty. The paper considers the procedural deficiencies in the current representative action rule, analyses the opt-in/opt-out procedures for determining the represented group and critically evaluates Australia’s federal statutory class action regime.
