The legality of third-party litigation funding is well established in France.
Nevertheless, the French market for third-party litigation funding is still comparatively small. Among other factors, this may be attributed to the fact that French law traditionally did not recognise class actions or punitive damages and that civil and commercial courts generally grant only limited cost awards for legal fees.
However, recent practice shows that third-party litigation funding has increased in specific market segments, such as antitrust damages litigation or small mass consumer claims.
In addition, the resort to third-party funding has grown signifcantly in the field of international arbitration over the past 10 years. Professional organisations support this evolution. The Paris Bar Council has explicitly endorsed the use of third-party funding, noting that third-party funding ‘is favourable to the interest of litigants and attorneys of the Paris Bar, particularly in international arbitration’ (Paris Bar Council, Resolution dated 21 February 2017, the Paris Bar Council Resolution or the Resolution)
You can keep on top of all the developments in France by downloading the updated France chapter, authored by Isabelle Berger of Nivalion AG and Marina Weiss of Bredin Prat here.
