Class Actions and the 'mixed Law' Regimes That Have Embraced Them: A Comparative Reflection on Class Actions in the South African and Quebec Legal Systems

• Author: Monique Pansegrouw and Shaun E Finn
• Pages: 235-259

235

CLASS ACTIONS AND THE

“MIXED LAW” REGIMES THAT

HAVE EMBRACED THEM:

A COMPARATIVE REFLECTION

ON CLASS ACTIONS IN THE

SOUTH AFRICAN AND QUEBEC

LEGAL SYSTEMS

Monique Pansegrouw and Shaun E Finn

Abstract: Over the course of the la st few decades, clas s actions

have gone from being an essentially American phenomenon

to one that is truly international. Class actions have also

transcended the common law world and have been adopted

by civilian jurisdictions and by “mixed law” jurisdictions

such as Quebec and South Africa. In the following article,

the authors examine how this unique form of complex litiga-

tion has been developed by t he courts of South Africa and ap-

plied in the context of a recent silicosis case brought against

the gold mining industr y. The authors proceed to analyze the

case — and the is sues to which it gives rise — from the st and-

point of Quebec law and civi l procedure. This ana lysis shows

that while important distinctions exist between Quebec and

South Africa, the two mixed law jurisdictions are also quite

similar when it comes to cl ass actions and have much to learn

from one another.