Samenvatting

In this article the authors compare Belgian and Dutch (draft) regulation of mass damage claims, and notably the prominent place reserved for the collective amicable settlement of such claims. Though collective action for the recovery of damage is still not possible in the Netherlands, Dutch law does provide for the possibility of the court endorsing collectively agreed settlements, since 2005. One of most notorious settlements, i.e. the Dexia case, is discussed, illustrating how individual victims may retain their standing to sue in court, although in such cases the courts show a tendency to cling to the terms of the collective settlement just the same (‘reflex effect or shadow of the settlement’). Mediation in brokering such high profile settlements does not necessarily follow the vested principles of mediation in ‘regular’ one to one disputes.