Litigation, Dispute Resolution and Investigations
Third-Party Funding
A commencement order is awaited in respect of section 124 of the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023 (Act) which was signed into law on 5 July 2023. Once commenced, s.124 of the Act will permit third-party funding of commercial arbitrations which fall within the scope of section 5A of the Arbitration Act 2010 (as amended).
At a more general policy level, the Law Reform Commission (LRC) review of third-party litigation funding remains ongoing. The LRC published a Consultation Paper on Third-Party Litigation Funding in July 2023. The LRC recommendations resulting from the consultation, expected in 2025, will inform whether there will be any relaxation of third-party funding and if so, address the issue of the regulation of third-party funding.
Further information is available here.
Collective Litigation
The commencement of the Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers Act 2023 (Act) on 30 April 2024 introduced a new civil litigation mechanism in Ireland through which representative actions can be brought by qualified entities on behalf of consumers for alleged infringement of their rights under relevant enactments. These enactments traverse a range of industries including financial services, travel and tourism, data protection, energy, telecommunications, environment, life sciences, healthcare and aviation.
As the list of designated qualified entities grows at a domestic and European level, the effectiveness of the Act is tempered by the current prohibition on third party funding in Ireland, save for limited circumstances. The LRC recommendations on this issue, expected in 2025, are therefore highly anticipated to see if there will be any relaxation of the existing prohibition on third party funding.
Further information is available here.
Enforcement Of Foreign Judgments
The ratification by the UK of the Convention of 2 July 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters (2019 Hague Judgments Convention) on 27 June 2024, will facilitate more streamlined enforcement of UK judgments in Ireland from 1 July 2025 when it comes into force for the UK. The UK has made a declaration in accordance with Article 25 of the 2019 Convention that it will only extend to England and Wales.
The 2019 Hague Judgments is currently in force between the EU (excluding Denmark), Ukraine and Uruguay. Albania, Costa Rica, Israel, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Russia, United States, have signed but not yet ratified the instrument.
Further information is available here.
The LRC recommendations resulting from the consultation, expected in 2025, will inform whether there will be any relaxation of third-party funding and if so, address the issue of the regulation of third-party funding.
As the list of designated qualified entities grows at a domestic and European level, the effectiveness of the Act is tempered by the current prohibition on third party funding in Ireland, save for limited circumstances.
Given the strong momentum towards reform and the commitment of the previous government to review and reform defamation laws, defamation reform will likely remain a priority in the next Programme for Government.
The draft amendments reflect the proposal by the Board of the Judicial Council to increase personal injury awards by 16.7% to take account of a rise in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices since the adoption of the Personal Injuries Guidelines.
Defamation
Following the lapse of the Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024 upon the dissolution of the Irish government on 8 November 2024, it will fall upon the next government to progress the reform of Ireland’s defamation laws.
Given the strong momentum towards reform and the commitment of the previous government to review and reform defamation laws, defamation reform will likely remain a priority in the next Programme for Government.
Further information is available here.
Product Liability & Product Safety
A significant update of the EU’s product liability and safety regimes took place in December 2024 with two key pieces of legislation formally coming into operation:
- The new Product Liability Directive (New Directive) came into force on 8 December 2024 and Member States must transpose the New Directive into national law by 9 December 2026.
- The new General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) became operational on 13 December 2024 – it is in effect as of that date. The European Union (General Product Safety) Regulations 2024 which came into operation on 13 December 2024 apply the GPSR in Ireland.
On the product liability side, we can expect a consultation on the transposition of the New Directive into Irish law, with draft legislation to follow which will need to be enacted by the Oireachtas.
It will also be interesting to see how the proposal for an Artificial Intelligence Liability Directive moves through the legislative passage at an EU level and if ultimately enacted, where this sits alongside the GPSR and the New Directive in the product compliance landscape.
Further information is available here.
Personal Injuries
On 11 December 2024, the Judicial Council published draft amendments to the 2021 Personal Injuries Guidelines.
The draft amendments reflect the proposal by the Board of the Judicial Council to increase personal injury awards by 16.7% to take account of a rise in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices since the adoption of the Personal Injuries Guidelines.
The draft amendments to the Personal Injuries Guidelines will be considered by the Judicial Council at the end of January 2025 and depending on the outcome of that consideration, the proposed draft amendments must be referred to the Minister for Justice. Thereafter the proposals need to be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas for approval and a resolution approving the draft amendments must be passed by each House.