The Civil Justice Council’s Working Group has released the eagerly awaited interim report of litigation funding, additionally including a consultation to gather opinions from interested parties on a number of topics, such as how third-party litigation funding should be regulated and other potential sources of funding. The interim report makes no recommendations, nor does it draw any conclusions at this stage. The completed report is expected to be released by next year.
The interim report focuses on a few main areas. The report focuses on the development of TPLF in England and Wales and discusses how TPLF can facilitate access to justice but also highlights the potential problems that can arise such as the pursuit of unmeritorious litigation and the reduction of the prospects of settlements.
The report also discusses the development of the self-regulation of TPLF in England and Wales and acknowledges the need to analyse some different approaches to regulation used in other jurisdictions such as Australia, Canada, the US and EU member states. The report acknowledges that the TPLF industry in England and Wales is the second largest in the world.
The report also makes reference to the relationship between costs and funding, examining the litigation costs versus litigation funding costs with the working party noting that there is no review mechanism currently in place. The report examines other potential litigation funding options such as self-funding, civil legal aid, Trade Union funding, legal expenses insurance conditional fee, crowdfunding, supplementary legal aid schemes and more.
The Civil Justice Council has now opened the consultation to gather opinions from interested parties. The consultation will close on Friday 31st January 2025. The consultation contains an extensive list of questions covering the relevant topics to be considered as part of the report, and encourages consultees to answer any questions that are of particular interest to their experience. The CJC Working Group aim to publish the complete report by the summer of 2025.
Click here for more information on how to participate in the consultation and for the full list of consultation questions.