This article offers a historical and comparative perspective on the possibility of admitting class actions in favor of indeterminate individuals. The starting point for this analysis is the common law's cy-pres doctrine, showing its application to class actions and the objections that it has faced. A contrast is then drawn with civil law jurisdictions, where the possibility of compensating indeterminate individuals has receded in the course of time, giving place to a system predominantly based on public enforcement. Finally, a critical view of the recent introduction of the cy-pres doctrine in Latin-American jurisdictions is offered, on account of their failure to draw some basic precautions from the comparative experience.