U.S. Securities Class Action Evolution

As more and more Chinese companies which listed in United States face class action suits in the United States, the United States securities class actions become the focus of attention. And it's more meaningful for us to research the United States securities class actions because lots of securities infringement cases appeared in recent years and the existing legal system can't protect the interests of investors.The United States was among the countries which first developed a form of class action provisions, also its securities class actions is the most active one among the well-developed securities markets in the world. The contents and reasons of the U.S. securities class actions changes in the development process can reveal lots of things including the advantage and the limitations of the securities class actions, and even the interactions between the securities class actions and stock market.Therefore, as the point of the view of historical evolution, with the comparative law and practical law research methods, the author will try to find the reason of the U.S. securities class action changes, hoping can benefit China in theory and practice way.Besides the preface and the conclusion, there are four chapters in this article. Each chapter is as follows:The first chapter introduces the concept, history and legal form of the class actions and the controversy surrounding them.The second chapter describes the civil liability system of the United Stated securities law and the advantages of the securities class actions in protecting the interests of the small and medium investors.The third one introduces the development process of the U.S. securities class actions as well as its reform content and reasons. In this chapter there also will be a objective evaluation to this reform.The fourth chapter describes the status of the securities civil litigation in China and the possibility of transplanting the U.S. securities class actions system into China.