The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) released an Inquiry into Class Action Proceedings and Third-Party Litigation Funders (DP 85) on 31 May 2018 and invited submissions by 30 July 2018.
Harbour considered all 16 proposals and 11 questions in detail and offered its response, drawing on its experience of having funded globally for more than 10 years and in Australia since 2013.
Serious corporate wrongdoing continues to take place globally, despite strict corporate governance regulations and the threat of regulatory enforcement. Any reduction of the ability of victims to seek private redress weakens the sense of corporate responsibility. It is therefore essential that private enforcement – mass redress for victims of corporate wrongdoing – is effective and supports a strict regulatory regime.
Stephen O’Dowd, Senior Director: “The discussion paper was clearly well researched, and we welcomed the opportunity to respond. Two key points: we believe the UK’s model of self-regulation efficiently deals with the concerns identified by the ALRC. We also set out why we believe the courts should not be given the express statutory power to reject, vary or set the commission rate in third-party litigation funding agreements.”
We await the outcome of the discussion paper with great interest.
The full response.
