Promovendus: Dhr. A. Cordina

Promotores: Mw. Prof. X.E. Kramer, Prof.Dr. L.T. Visscher

Duur: 1/12/2020 - 15/2/2025

Abstract:

European civil justice systems face constrained budgets and mounting litigation costs, posing a signification challenge both to access to justice from a legal point of view and social welfare from an economic point of view. With private Third Party Litigation Funding (TPF) touted as one promising solution to this problem, I explore why TPF is still viewed with caution and remains largely unaddressed from a regulatory point of view. The civil justice crisis in Europe and the shift from public to private funding is first briefly investigated. I then outline the relevant rules which apply to TPF on a European-wide level, and in the Netherlands, England & Wales and Germany and complement this with historical and comparative elements. The law and economics discipline is then used to theoretically analyse the behaviour of the actors involved and whether this legal phenomenon contributes to access to justice with the specific diverging situations in each jurisdiction taken into account. Surveys and interviews collect insights to explore and describe the TPF industry and test the hypotheses arrived at through the above-mentioned analysis.