Under Irish law, the common law principles of maintenance and
champerty1 still apply, to the extent that there is
limited scope for third-party litigation funding. However,
after-the-event insurance (ATE) – which is designed to offer
protection when or after a party becomes aware of the need to
litigate to protect their interest – has recently been
approved (in theory at least) as not contravening either of those
principles.
Background
In Green Clean Waste Management Ltd v Leahy2
the Court of Appeal accepted that an ATE insurance policy could, in
principle, provide security for costs, albeit based on the facts in
this case the specific policy involved did not satisfy the
requirements to constitute sufficient security (for further details
please see "After-the-event insurance given amber
light"). The plaintiff issued proceedings against its
former solicitors for alleged professional negligence.
Subsequently, the plaintiff entered into liquidation and the
defendant
