England & Wales working to stay ahead of global markets
London’s commercial courts are increasingly international, but competition from regional hubs remains fierce, according to an annual report.
The Commercial Courts Report 2018, commissioned by communications agency Portland, analyses the 158 judgments from the London commercial courts between March 2017 and April 2018. It found that 656 litigants from 69 countries were represented in the past year, up from 62 countries in 2015/16.
More than 40% (267 litigants) were from the UK. Kazakhstan accounted for 31 litigants, the second highest nationality in terms of representation. Russian and US litigants were the joint third most likely nationality to appear, with 20 litigants each. Next came, in order, Germany, UAE, Singapore, Turkey, Cyprus, Panama, India, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Jersey.
There was also a 22% increase in the total number of litigants using the commercial courts compared to 2017. However, London faces stiff competition from abroad, such as the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts (DIFC), the Qatar International Court (QIC), the Abu Dhabi Global Market Courts (ADGMC) and the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC).
Charles Balmain, committee member of the London Solicitors Litigation Association (LSLA), and a partner at White & Case, said: ‘The English court system remains amongst the global elite, known worldwide for the high calibre of its Judges.
‘We are already seeing the English courts react to keep ahead of growing competition from other fora. In particular, we are seeing increased use of technology, and the trial of new, streamlined, disclosure processes aimed at balancing the benefit of this process with the time and cost involved. We are confident that such improvements will only heighten the popularity of England as a forum for dispute resolution and are delighted to see this reflected in the Commercial Courts Report 2018.’
Philip Hall, partner at Portland, said the London Commercial Courts are well placed but ‘cannot be complacent’.
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