World
With lawfare on the rise, courts are becoming a venue for politics
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent in any way the editorial position of Euronews.
Usually with no leg to stand on, the objective of these claims is to disrupt and clog the system and cause chaos, Pieter Cleppe writes.
Long gone are the days when politics was confined to parliaments. Apart from the growingly politicised and polarised media, the courtroom is increasingly becoming a political venue, with third-party litigation funding being particularly concerning.
Both in Europe and the US, there has been increased scrutiny of third-party litigation funding.
This is a phenomenon where claimants in court cases no longer fund their own cases. Instead, they are bankrolled by investment firms, who basically see it as an attractive, if insecure, investment.
Bloomberg Law recently disclosed how Russian billionaires close to President Vladimir Putin have been secretly pouring money into US courts through third-party litigation funding in a bid to contest the sanctions they have been subject to.
The gist is that by investing millions without even showing their face in court, some malevolent actors have found lawfare a useful tool to laugh in the face of law and justice and syphon their money across the border while doing it.
Chinese claims are now targeting intellectual property in the US
In another example, a company based in China has been clandestinely funding intellectual property lawsuits against Samsung, using a Florida tech company as a front, to claim that the South Korean giant used its intellectual property in its popular audio products.
The essence of the problem here is that the funders “often manipulate civil litigation for their own purposes”, according to a letter to the heads of a US congressional committee in October by major pharma companies Bayer and Johnson & Johnson.
In the letter, they complain that the litigation finance industry “goes to great lengths to operate in complete secrecy,” demanding more transparency.
The fear here, backed by the US Chamber of Commerce, is that litigation financing could allow Washington’s adversaries to obtain confidential information about sensitive technologies.
In any case, US House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senator John Kennedy, have already taken legal action, having submitted a legislative proposal that would regulate foreign entities’ ability to fund litigation.
Business groups like the US Chamber of Commerce support this, as they believe the shortage of available information about who is financing cases opens the door for foreign adversaries to undermine US national security.
An EU directive is in the works
Also in Europe, legal action is on the way. Last summer, the European Parliament recommended to the European Commission to propose a Directive on the regulation of third-party funding in the EU, aptly named “Responsible funding of litigation”, with the goal of regulating third-party funders’ financing proceedings in the EU.
If adopted, it would create a minimum standard for third-party funders in the EU and establish a supervisory authority granting permits to funders and monitoring their activities.
It would also hold funders jointly liable with the funded disputing party to pay the cost of the proceedings that may be awarded, impose an obligation on funders to adequate financial resources to fulfil their liabilities under the funding arrangement, impose a fiduciary duty of care the funder owes toward the funded disputing party, establish specific disclosure and transparency obligations to inform competent judicial or administrative organs of the existence of a funding arrangement and limit the financial stake of funders to 40% of the amount of compensation awarded, save for exceptional circumstances.
The directive was spurred on by a number of questionable claims that have seen a spike in recent years. Usually with no leg to stand on, the objective of these claims is to disrupt and clog the system and cause chaos, with profits nothing more than a side quest.
Yet, sometimes, a case like this can end up hurting an entire country’s GDP, too.
The Sultanate of Sulu case continues to raise eyebrows
A prominent example in Europe of litigation funding is a case brought by a Spanish private arbitrator, Gonzalo Stampa, who demanded Malaysia to pay a $14.9 billion (€13.7bn) arbitral award to a group of individuals claiming to be heirs of the last sultan of Sulu, a territory now belonging to Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur rejected the claim, arguing the case represented a challenge to its sovereignty.
The legal claims of the sultan’s heirs had been financed by a global litigation and arbitration finance firm, the London-based Therium.
ADVERTISEMENTEven if there was no link to Spain, the claimants still brought the case there to the judicial authorities eager to find any judicial forum to get their way. As a result, Stampa, who specializes in international mediation, was appointed by the Civil and Penal Chamber of Spain’s Supreme Court (TSJM) as the arbitrator of the case.
Following legal challenges by the Malaysian government on the grounds that the required procedure had not been followed, Spain’s Supreme Court ruled in June 2021 to remove Stampa from the case, thereby granting the Malaysian government’s request for dismissal.
While Stampa was ordered to end the arbitration several times, the arbitrator ignored those orders and even changed the arbitration venue from Madrid to Paris on disputable legal grounds.
There, he issued his final ruling, granting the massive award, making it the second highest ever rendered, and amounting to 1% of Malaysia’s GDP. It’s peculiar that such important cases tend to involve multiple arbitrators, rather than just one, with the entire proceedings including payment to Stampa apparently funded by Therium.
Later, an appeal in France overturned the decision, and remarkably, Stampa was found guilty of contempt of court for failing to comply with an earlier court ruling ordering him to drop the complex legal battle.
ADVERTISEMENTIt’s time to stop and think what to do next
Imposing to disclose who’s funding a court case may deter outside investors and mean “less access to legal finance”, but that hasn’t stopped legal action being initiated both in Europe and the US related to the practice of third-party litigation funding.
Looking at the whole range of extra bureaucracy the European Parliament has in mind, perhaps it is important to take a pause.
Allowing judges to decide on a case-by-case basis to what extent claimants need to be transparent, particularly in a contentious case where national security could be at risk, might just be a better way forward.
Pieter Cleppe is the editor-in-chief of BrusselsReport.eu and a former attorney-at-law.
At Euronews, we believe all views matter. Contact us at view@euronews.com to send pitches or submissions and be part of the conversation.
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Tens of thousands of far-left protesters flooded the streets and clashed with police in the Germany city of Erfurt on Saturday as they protested the conservative Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Videos showed police beating back agitators with batons and deploying anti-riot ordnance as the demonstrators chanted against the country’s conservative Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in a massive political rally.
Police said over 30,000 people attended the demonstrations, according to the Associated Press (AP), and people could be seen carrying signs reading “Stop AfD Nazis” and “For Diversity, Against Nazis.”
‘YOU’RE DESTROYING YOUR COUNTRIES’: IS EUROPE FINALLY HEEDING TRUMP’S WARNING ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION?
Despite the tense clashes caught on video, police told news outlets the demonstrations have been “mostly peaceful,” and claimed they’ve recorded approximately 100 law violations, mostly due to graffiti.
The standoff in the city of Erfurt, Thuringia state, comes as the opposition Alternative for Germany party is soaring in national opinion polls ahead of all other parties. (RALF HIRSCHBERGER / AFP via Getty Images)
The protests coincided with AfD’s party conference and leadership elections during which the party, the second largest parliamentary group in Germany’s Bundestag parliament, re-elected Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla as the party co-leaders.
The mass demonstrations delayed AfD’s vote, prompting Chrupalla to criticize the method in which agitators expressed their dissatisfaction.
Thousands of demonstrators flooded a German city on July 4, 2026, blocking major roads and disrupting public transport, in a bid to shut down the annual congress of the conservative AfD party. (RALF HIRSCHBERGER / AFP via Getty Images)
THE OLDEST HATRED IS BACK: HOW IT’S CONSUMING EUROPE AND CROSSING THE ATLANTIC
“There are no peaceful seated blockades. There are no democratic roadblocks. Nor are there any gangs of thugs who deserve the harmless label ‘civil society.’ These troublemakers are the last resort of our political rivals,” Chrupalla said, according to the AP.
Protesters gather before a party convention of Alternative for Germany, or AfD in Erfurt, Germany, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Chrupalla also accused the protesters of acting anti-democratically. “They believe they have a monopoly on democracy. To these demonstrators I say: this democracy is just as much our democracy as it is yours.”
A spokesperson for local antifascist group widersetzen explicitly claimed that the group’s intention was to block AfD’s party convention.
PRESIDENT ALEKSANDAR VUČIĆ: EUROPE VILIFIES TRUMP, BUT WE IN SERBIA SEE A FRIEND
“The AfD pursues fascist policies: It wants mass deportations and terror on the streets. At the same time, however, it doesn’t solve a single real problem,” widersetzen spokesperson Lena Raupach told the AP. “It pursues policies that benefit the rich, not ordinary citizens. And we at widersetzen want a society in which all people have equal opportunities and equal security. We want a society based on solidarity.”
AfD, while fighting accusations of extremism from citizens and center-left and center-right politicians in the country’s ruling coalition, rejects the notion that it is extreme, arguing it is “being used as a political instrument by mainstream parties,” according to the AP.
The party has been experiencing a historic surge in popularity in recent years, grabbing over 20% of the national vote in federal elections in 2025 with an eye on capturing even more in the next election. Some federal polls have the party ranked as the most popular in the country today.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“We will win. Maybe we’ll be able to govern alone soon,” Chrupalla said Saturday. “That would send the right message to the enemies of democracy out there who wanted to prevent our party convention from taking place.”
Partygoers widely support the conservative moment fashioned by President Donald Trump and the party shares similar stances on social, cultural and domestic issues as the Trump administration, particularly on immigration. Perhaps inspired by Trump’s trademark slogan, one party conference attendee Saturday could be seen sporting a “Make Germany Great Again” hat.
A man is wearing a “Make Germany Great Again” cap at the convention center. The AfD’s national party convention will take place on July 4 and 5 at the Erfurt Convention Center. (Martin Schutt/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The Italian government is sounding the alarm after 80 vials of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to one hundred times more powerful than morphine, were stolen from Rome’s Israelitic Hospital.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
The missing quantity would be enough to produce up to around 20,000 doses potentially destined for illicit use, which in countries such as the United States and Canada has become a national emergency.
Fentanyl is used legally in medicine as an anaesthetic and to treat severe pain, including in cancer patients. But taking this “party anaesthetic” for non-medical purposes has devastating effects. As little as 3 milligrams of the “zombie drug” (as it is known when mixed with xylazine) are enough to kill a person.
In Italy too, its growing spread on the illegal drug market has raised public health concerns, leading to a “National prevention plan against the improper use of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids” presented in March 2024 by the Anti-Drugs Policy Department of the Prime Minister’s Office.
How the fentanyl theft unfolded
The head of the hospital pharmacy reported the theft on 24 June. What is striking is the absence of any sign of forced entry on the safe where the vials were kept, the keys to which are held by several members of staff.
Prosecutors in Rome have opened an investigation. An initial report on the incident has been sent to the criminal court of the capital. The inquiries have been entrusted to the Carabinieri’s NAS unit. The case concerns allegations of theft and possession with intent to supply narcotic substances.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Health – at the instigation of Minister Schillaci – has launched an inspection through its competent offices. The ministry is also preparing “a new circular to further step up checks on the improper use and circulation of fentanyl and on how it is stored in medical and hospital facilities”.
The government’s response
The theft prompted an emergency meeting at Palazzo Chigi, chaired by undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano. During the meeting “the need to ensure compliance with the procedures laid down for the management of high-risk medicines, in order to protect public health and prevent similar incidents from happening again” was reiterated.
“In the coming days,” it was explained, “the monitoring committee on the implementation of the anti-fentanyl plan will be reconvened at Palazzo Chigi, with the aim of ensuring that all the parties involved put in place the necessary safeguards and controls”.
Meanwhile, the Lazio Region has ordered an extraordinary inspection visit to Rome’s Israelitic Hospital to check how the hospital pharmacy manages narcotic drugs.
At the same time, it “announces that it has instructed the territorially competent local health authorities to verify the proper management of narcotic drugs in the region’s various hospitals, thereby extending the control measures to the entire regional territory so as to guarantee the highest safety standards”.
-
Lifestyle40 minutes agoBut first, coffee: The drink that energized the American Revolution
-
Technology48 minutes agoNASA launched an emergency mission to stop the Swift Observatory from crashing to Earth
-
World55 minutes agoTens of thousands of far-left protesters clash with police in anti-conservative party riots
-
Politics58 minutes agoTrump set to deliver ‘historic’ speech celebrating America’s 250th anniversary
-
Health1 hour agoThe ‘1776 Diet’: What Americans really ate during the nation’s founding
-
Sports1 hour agoKylian Mbappé’s seventh goal of the World Cup lifts France past Paraguay in physical Round of 16 match
-
Business1 hour agoCalifornia is bringing back EV rebates. This is how to get one
-
Entertainment1 hour agoComedy saved her life. Now Teruko Nakajima’s ‘Made in America’ is saving others
