Seminar Series Trends and Challenges in Costs and Funding of Civil Justice - Fourth Seminar
News
Guest lecture International Commercial Courts Cyprus
Xandra Kramer gave a guest lecture on ‘International commercial courts: a game changer in international litigation?’ at the Neapolis University Pafos in Cyprus on 12 April 2024. She discussed the rise of international commercial courts in the Middle East and Europe, in the context of needs of international business, court specialisation and access to justice and in relation to international arbitration.
Focussing on key features of these courts she gave insights on the different courts, and in particular the Singapore and Netherlands Commercial Court. Highlighting some innovative features and the opportunities the Hague Judgments Convention of 2019 offers, she concluded that these courts have an effect on the international litigation market, but they have not triggered a huge shift from arbitration or other courts to these new business courts.
Published: April 5, 2022
From December 2021 – June 2022, the team of the Vici project ‘Affordable Access to Justice’ at Erasmus School of Law organizes an online seminar series dedicated to Trends and Challenges in Costs and Funding of Civil Justice.
The fourth seminar was dedicated to Litigation Funding in Europe: A Market Perspective and took place on 23 March 2022, 15-17 CET. The funding of the costs of litigation, an essential dimension of accessing civil justice, was discussed. Among the topics presented were the current litigation funding landscape in Europe with particular attention to Third Party Funding (TPF) and collective redress. The pricing considerations for TPF and the ethical implications of TPF in international arbitration were also discussed.
Stefaan Voet (KU Leuven University) gave a brief overview of the current litigation funding landscape in Europe, with particular attention to third party litigation funding and collective redress and current and possible forthcoming legislation on TPF.
Thomas Kohlmeier (Nivalion AG) compared different concepts to provide access to justice such as legal aid, legal expenses insurance and TPF, with a special focus with a special focus on the pricing considerations for TPF.
Yihua Chen (Erasmus School of Law) discussed whether the existing international arbitration regime can adequately address the ethical implications of third-party funders for the professional conduct of arbitrators and lawyers representing clients. He focussed on the ethical implications for the independence and impartiality of arbitrators, as well as for the lawyers’ independence and their professional obligations to funded parties and arbitral tribunals.