CS3D and private enforcement

This contribution traces the evolution of the CS3D’s private enforcement mechanism from the 2024 Directive to Omnibus I, focusing on how private international law rules have shaped its effectiveness. Under the 2024 framework, the Directive provided for overriding mandatory civil liability rules, but it did not ensure access to Member State courts. The paper argues that the EU principle of effectiveness supported an implicit forum legis—a lesson relevant for future EU instruments with lois de police. It then shows that Omnibus I, by deleting the harmonised cause of action and the overriding mandatory characterisation, often leaves victims without effective redress under the applicable law ex Art 4 Rome II. The paper concludes that this regulatory choice substantially undermines the CS3D’s private enforcement, and that the only solution is to modify the Rome II Regulation along the lines of environmental torts.