Presentation meeting Law Society England & Wales
News
Mapping Study TPLF in Europe
The European Commission has released the Mapping Study on Third Party Litigation Funding (TPLF) in the European Union. This comprehensive study provides a detailed
analysis of legislation, practices, and stakeholder perspectives across the EU and in selected third countries.
Over the past years, third party litigation funding has become one of the most debated topics in European civil justice. The EU Representative Actions Directive - requiring Member States to establish collective action mechanisms for EU consumer cases - has intensified this discussion. Collective actions to obtain damages often involve significant expenses and procedural risks. In the absence of other suitable funding mechanisms, TPLF has gained prominence as a means to support such claims.
This trend was also reflected in extensive research, reported earlier on this website, carried out at the request of the Dutch Ministry of Justice on the WAMCA (the Dutch Act on Collective Damages Claims), which highlighted the growing reliance on third party funding in the Netherlands.
In September 2022, the European Parliament adopted a Resolution on Responsible Private Funding of Litigation, urging the European Commission to consider stricter regulation of TPLF. In response, the Commission commissioned this in-depth Mapping Study, which analyses existing legal frameworks, practical experiences, and the divergent approaches among Member States.
From our research group, Jos Hoevenaars acted as national co-reporter, and Xandra Kramer contributed as a member of the advisory board. The findings of this study will play a key role in shaping the future policy debate on TPLF regulation in the EU.
Published: April 12, 2022
Xandra Kramer was kindly invited to give a presentation at a meeting of the Private International Law working group of the Law Society of England and Wales on 11 April 2022. The purpose was to provide an update on EU developments in the area of private international law, including on the interaction between England and Wales and the EU post Brexit. She discussed the enforcement of judgments and jurisdictional implications, including the Hague Choice of Court Convention, the (problematic) possible accession of the UK to the Lugano Convention, and the new Hague Judgment Convention. She also briefly addressed the establishment of international commercial courts in several Member States, including the Netherlands, the new Representative Action Directive as well as the ongoing evaluation of the Brussels I regulation and the ADR and ODR instruments.