On 14 March 2017, the DIFC Courts formally adopted the Practice Direction on third party funding after a public consultation at the beginning of 2017 during which we shared our recommendations.
Mark King, Director of Litigation Funding, previously based in the UAE, observes: “This is a very positive development for dispute resolution in the region and gives the DIFC a real opportunity to lead the way in the Middle East.”
On the Practice Direction itself Mark adds: “The draft Practice Direction sets out the requirements which Funded Parties and Funders should observe in relation to proceedings in the DIFC Courts, such as disclosure of the existence of funding and security for costs in funded proceedings. It is clear to us that the DIFC seeks to propose a well-structured framework.”
The Harbour View published in October 2016 was dedicated to recent developments of litigation, arbitration and third party funding in the Middle East and was testament to how much progress has been made to improve the legal landscape in the Middle East. On page 6, the Registrar of the DIFC Courts mentioned: “The future of international dispute resolution will favour those centres which acknowledge the importance of third party funding, and provide a regulatory framework which supports its development in an open and balanced way…”. The Practice Directive clearly supports that sentiment.
