By Yasmin Mohammad, Investment Director and Noor Kadhim, Legal
Counsel, Vannin Capital
With the development of the DIFC and ADGM international
legal centres, the benefits of third party funding are becoming
available to more businesses in the Middle East. The DIFC has
recognised this and published new laws on funding, which should
favour established, professional providers
Attitudes to third-party litigation funding are changing in the
Middle East, and the growth of free-zone jurisdictions with common
law systems means more international businesses in the region are
seeking funding alternatives.
Third-party funding of disputes has never been restricted in the
United Arab Emirates in the same way that champerty and maintenance
rules previously presented legal hurdles in markets like England,
Australia and Singapore. The concept of another unrelated party
having an economic interest in a case is also not an issue under
the principles of Shari'a law.