The Costs and Funding of Civil Litigation: A Comparative Perspective (Civil Justice Systems)

This unique and invaluable book is the first major comparative study of litigation costs and methods of funding litigation. It contains national chapters contributed by scholars in 19 jurisdictions: Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, England and Wales, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the US, along with a further chapter on Latin American jurisdictions. These describe the principles and rules that relate to paying courts, witnesses, and lawyers, as well as the rules on cost shifting, if any. They also note the major ways in which litigation can be funded, identifying the global trend on contraction of legal aid, the so far limited spread of contingency fees, and the growing new phenomenon of private third party litigation funding. The book contains the results of nine case studies of typical claim types so as to give a first overview comparison of which countries' legal systems are cheaper or more expensive. (Series: Civil Justice Systems)