Yesterday, the Civil Justice Council (CJC) published its final report on litigation funding.
The full report can be accessed here: CJC Final Report – June 2025
We welcome the CJC’s detailed engagement with this complex and important area and are still examining the detail of the recommendations closely.
While we are encouraged by some of the CJC’s proposals – particularly around statutory regulation, enhanced consumer protections and transparency requirements – some recommendations require further scrutiny. It is good to see that a number of FCJ’s key proposals were adopted as recommendations.
Key proposals of note:
- A move toward statutory regulation of third-party litigation funders – though not via the FCA – is proposed, based on principles from the European Law Institute. This is significant and long overdue.
- The report recommends reversing the PACCAR decision both prospectively and retrospectively.
- For consumers, the CJC calls for stronger protections, including a duty of care, mandatory independent legal advice, and safeguards around capital adequacy and conflicts of interest.
Further points include:
- Encouraging legal regulators to review their own rules on funding.
- Allowing cost recovery in exceptional cases – a step we view with caution, as it could increase financial pressure on defendants.
- Permitting DBAs in the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
- Proposals to explore an Access to Justice Fund, funded by a levy on funders and contingency arrangements.
While these proposals are likely to evolve over the coming months, it remains essential that any future framework promotes access to justice while also protecting consumers, ensuring they receive meaningful redress, and avoiding unintended consequences for the wider UK economy.
We will continue to engage closely with policymakers and stakeholders, and will publish further comment as the picture becomes clearer.
