In a world where ordinary citizens often feel powerless against large corporations, class action lawsuits in Portugal offer an important tool for defense. These lawsuits allow citizens affected by common problems, such as defective products, unfair business practices, or the improper disclosure of personal data, to join forces to seek justice collectively. This mechanism makes access to the courts possible for those who otherwise would not be able to afford the costs, nor would they have the means to deal with the complexity of individual lawsuits.

Lena Hornkohl, a member of the board of directors of the Ius Omnibus association and professor of European Law at the University of Vienna.

By bringing together multiple claims into a single process, class action lawsuits make the defense of rights more accessible and effective. Portugal is one of the few jurisdictions in the European Union (EU) that already had a class action system before the recent European legislative developments and that, even today, goes beyond them.

Article 52, paragraph 3 of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, the Law on Popular Action (Law No. 83/95) and Article 31 of the Code of Civil Procedure recognize popular action as a form of active standing for citizens, individually or through associations, such as Ius Omnibus, before any court, allowing them to defend diffuse interests without needing to invoke a personal and direct interest or demonstrate any connection to the object of the action.

By consolidating similar cases into a single process, the system avoids overloading the courts and optimizes dispute resolution, promoting a more organized and effective approach to collective litigation, ensuring that no one is left out. In fact, Portugal, unlike many other EU countries, has established a system in which individuals are automatically included in a lawsuit and represented by the plaintiff, unless they opt out . This puts Portuguese consumers in an advantageous position, as it ensures the protection of their rights.

Joana Moreira, researcher at the Ius Omibus association and visiting assistant professor of Law and Management at the European University.

The Portuguese legal framework for class action lawsuits represents a powerful tool for collective empowerment. It has redefined how people can fight against large organizations, offering a fairer path to justice.

A notable example is the action brought by Ius Omnibus in January 2024 against the "Banking Cartel". Although these banks escaped fines from the Competition Authority due to the statute of limitations expiring on the administrative offense proceedings, they remain liable to compensate consumers for the six billion euros in damages they caused.

Just a year earlier, Ius Omnibus had initiated a class-action lawsuit against Flo Health, Inc., accusing the company of illegally sharing sensitive user data related to menstruation, health, and sexual activity with tech giants like Facebook and Google for targeted advertising purposes.

During the same period, Ius Omnibus filed a class action lawsuit to protect children under 13 from TikTok's alleged illegal practices. Despite claiming to prohibit the use of the platform by children under that age, TikTok failed to implement effective safeguards, allowing unauthorized access and collecting personal data without parental consent. This exposed minors to serious risks to their safety, health, and privacy. With these actions, Ius seeks compensation for both the users whose data was violated and the affected children.

Ultimately, collective actions are a testament to the power of solidarity and the recognition that, together, people can achieve what they could not achieve individually. It is a process that makes justice accessible and ensures that the legal system serves the majority, not just a few.