Cap. 520 Art. 2Interpretation.

In this Act unless the context otherwise requires:

"class" means a group of persons who have suffered or are suffering harm and whose claims arise from common issues;

"class member" means a person falling within the class specified in the collective proceedings decree;

"class representative" means the plaintiff, that is, a person who is authorised to bring the claims in collective proceedings and includes a sub-class representative; "collective proceedings" means proceedings which are brought by a class representative on behalf of persons whose claims raise common issues and which may be instituted as a group action or a representative action;

"collective proceedings agreement" means an agreement entered into between the class member and the class representative whereby the class member consents to his inclusion in the collective proceedings and to the appointment of the class representative and includes the claim of the class member and may also include provision for the pre-payment and, or reimbursement of any judicial costs incurred by the class representative: Provided that every class member shall only be liable for costs in proportion to his claim; "collective proceedings decree" means a decree authorising the action to proceed as collective proceedings; "common issues" means -

(i) common but not necessarily identical issues of fact, or

(ii) common but not necessarily identical issues of law that arise from common but not necessarily identical facts; "constituted body" means a body which is purposely set up to act in the interests of its members and includes also any body recognised as a constituted body under the Malta Council for

*see article 1(2) of this Act as originally enacted, and Legal Notice 256 of 2012. Economic and Social Development Act, as well as any other body of a similar nature recognised as a constituted body under any other law or in accordance with established administrative practice; "Court" means the Civil Court (Commercial Section) established by article 3 of the Civil Courts (Establishment of Sections) Order;

"group action" means proceedings that are brought on behalf of a number of individual class members and whose class representative satisfies the criteria mentioned in article 12(2); "individual issues" means issues that are relevant only to certain individual represented persons; "opt-in proceedings" means collective proceedings brought on behalf of class members who inform the class representative as provided in this Act that their claim should be included in the collective proceedings;

"public authority" shall have the same meaning as defined in the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority Act; "registered consumer association" means a registered consumer association as defined in the Consumer Affairs Act and any other consumer association that has been officially recognised in any other country;

"representative action" means proceedings that are brought on behalf of a number of class members by a representative body according to article 12(1); "represented person" means a class member who has opted into the collective proceedings; "TFEU" means the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.