A/HRC/32/19 15.5 Providers of private funding arrangements are subject to appropriate regulation to ensure proper standards of service and to guard against abuse and conflicts of interest. 15.6 Potential claimants have access to well-publicized and reliable sources of advice on their options with respect to litigation funding and resourcing, in languages and formats that are both accessible and understandable. Policy objective 16: Costs associated with bringing private law claims in cases arising from business-related human rights abuses (e.g. lawyer’s fees and court fees) are reduced, including through better case management and other efficiency measures. 16.1 Court fees (e.g. initial filing fees, fees for obtaining and copying documents, etc.) are reasonable and proportionate, with the likelihood of waivers for claimants showing financial hardship and in cases where there is a public interest in the litigation taking place. 16.2 Court procedures include readily identifiable, realistic and affordable opportunities for early mediation and settlement. 16.3 Systems exist for the identification of and transparency and judicial accountability with respect to court delays. 16.4 Rules on the allocation of court and legal costs at the conclusion of proceedings are designed to encourage reasonableness on the part of litigants, efficient use of legal and other resources in the pursuit of any claim or defence to a claim and, as far as possible, the swift conclusion of legal claims. 16.5 Rules on security for costs strike a proper balance between the needs of a defendant with respect to the management of financial risks associated with litigation and considerations of access to remedy for claimants. 16.6 Domestic law courts make appropriate use of technologies, including information and communications technologies, to operate in an efficient and cost-effective manner. 16.7 There is the possibility of civil enforcement of legal standards by regulators (i.e. acting on behalf of affected individuals or groups) in appropriate cases. Cooperation in cross-border cases Policy objective 17: Claimants in cases arising from business-related human rights abuses are readily and rapidly able to seek legal assistance from relevant State agencies and judicial bodies in other States for the purpose of gathering evidence from foreign individual, corporate and regulatory sources for use in judicial proceedings. 17.1 The State sets out a clear policy expectation that its judicial bodies and other relevant State agencies will be appropriately responsive to requests for legal assistance made for the purposes of obtaining evidence for use in judicial proceedings arising from business-related human rights abuses. 17.2 The State ensures that appropriate bilateral and multilateral agreements are in place to enable its judicial bodies and other relevant State agencies to request legal assistance from relevant counterparts in other States for the purposes of obtaining evidence for use in judicial proceedings arising from business-related human rights abuse. 17.3 The State ensures that its judicial bodies and other relevant State agencies have access to the necessary information, support, training and resources to enable personnel to make the best use of arrangements with other States for cooperation in private law cases. 17.4 The State is actively involved with bilateral and multilateral initiatives aimed at improving the ease with which and speed at which (a) requests for mutual legal assistance 19