The Civil Justice Council has extended the deadline for submissions to its high-profile review of the litigation funding sector by more than a month, to 3 March.

However, the advisory body said the time extension would not delay the publication of its final report, which is still due this summer.

Submissions to the CJC review had originally been due by 31 January. While the CJC did not give any reason for the extension, it is understood that this is not due to any significant developments affecting the review or the funding market. The time extension will allow for greater engagement with stakeholders ahead of the submission deadline.

The timing of the final report is being closely watched by funders, as the government has said it will wait until it has considered the CJC’s final report before it deals with the problems created by the PACCAR ruling, together with other reforms of the sector.

The CJC review will look at a broad range of issues including regulation of litigation funding; whether funders’ returns should be capped; what role the courts should play in controlling funded litigation and the extent to which the presence of funding should be disclosed. An interim report by the CJC’s working group, setting out the questions for consultation, was published last October.

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