Civil Justice Council Recommends "Light Touch" Regulation Of Litigation Funding In United Kingdom

Published: 2025-06-11 12:11:12 ET PCAR

Published on 06/11/2025 at 12:11

The report contains 58 recommendations, which would require legislation and new court rules if they are to be enacted.

Key recommendations include:

Reversal of PACCAR

Legislation should be passed to reverse the effects of the UK Supreme Court's decision in R (PACCAR) v Competition Appeal Tribunal [2023] UKSC 28, to enable funders to be remunerated based on a percentage of any damages recovered in the litigation.

Funder Returns

No statutory cap on funder returns.

Costs Recovery

In exceptional cases, funded litigants should be permitted to recover funding costs from their opponents. Funders should continue to be potentially liable for third-party adverse costs orders.

Disclosure

The name of the funder and the source of funds should be disclosed to the court and the parties. Disclosure of funding terms should not be the norm.

"Light Touch" Regulation

All forms of litigation funding (apart from funding of arbitral proceedings) should be subject to "light touch" statutory regulation, which should:

The CJC considers that these requirements obviate the need for security for costs, which should not generally be available against a funder that has complied with capital adequacy requirements and has suitable after-the-event ("ATE") insurance in place.

Enhanced Regulation for Funding Group Actions and Consumer Claims

If implemented, the CJC's recommendations would reshape the litigation funding landscape in the United Kingdom, with the intention of enhancing access to justice while addressing concerns about the effectiveness of the current regulatory approach.

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Mr Ozan Akyurek Jones Day 2 rue Saint-Florentin Paris 75001 FRANCE Tel: 2165863939 Fax: 2165790212 E-mail: [email protected] URL: www.jonesday.com