INTRODUCTION

This chapter considers the approach that can be taken to the enforcement of consumer protection and capital markets law in England and Wales (England). It does so through a consideration of two case studies that form the focus of this chapter, which are based on litigation arising from alleged infringements of consumer protection law and capital markets law by Volkswagen, which have been the subject of proceedings in a number of jurisdictions (the diesel scandal).

THE DIESEL SCANDAL IN ENGLAND

The diesel scandal has had a more limited impact in England than it has in, for instance, Germany or the US, both in terms of governmental or regulatory action and in terms of criminal and civil proceedings.

In respect of the former, it was initially considered by a UK Parliamentary Committee, the Transport Committee. It took evidence concerning the issue and then raised its concerns with the UK Government and issued a report into the diesel scandal in July 2016. Its primary focus was an apparent lack of action by the UK Government and various investigatory and regulatory authorities. As it noted, no real action was taken by the government:

Additionally, authorities such as the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) could have taken action, but they did not take any or any substantive action either. They, the Transport Select Committee concluded, had ‘taken a softer approach to investigating VW compared to European counterparts’. The SFO was noted to have reported that it was co-ordinating with counterparts in other European Union Member States. In point of fact, in 2015 the SFO had previously been reported to be considering whether to investigate Volkswagen for ‘corporate criminality’ arising from the diesel scandal. No further public comment on any potential or actual investigation has been made public, either since then or since the Select Committee's report and its statement concerning the action the SFO was taking in 2016. The CMA had also not commenced any formal investigation but was assessing the situation.