ACCESS TO JUSTICE THROUGH THE MECHANISM OF COLLECTIVE ACTIONS

Abstract

The article examines the institution of class action in civil proceedings as an instrument for the protection of human rights, based on the need to ensure effective access to justice and equality before the law. In this context, the study analyzes the evolution and justification of the emergence of collective actions in Anglo-Saxon and continental legal systems, highlighting their particularities and their relationship with the institution of procedural co-participation. It shows that collective actions are a form of judicial protection of common interests, designed to ensure procedural efficiency, fairness, and equal access to justice for persons in similar situations. With regard to the situation in the Republic of Moldova, although civil procedural law does not expressly enshrine the concept of "class action", there are legal institutions and mechanisms that allow the defense of the rights of several persons through actions brought by subjects empowered by law. In conclusion, there is a need to harmonies national legislation with European principles on collective actions in order to strengthen procedural guarantees of human rights.