The book presents international commercial courts from a comparative perspective and highlights their role in transnational adjudication.

Over the past two decades, various jurisdictions around the world have created new specialised domestic courts to manage international commercial disputes. Located in the Gulf region (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Qatar), in Asia (Singapore, China, Kazakhstan) and in Europe (Germany, France, the Netherlands), these courts enrich the current landscape of the resolution of international commercial disputes. In particular, they present themselves as alternatives to litigation before ordinary courts, on the one hand, and to international commercial arbitration on the other. This book studies international commercial courts from a comparative perspective through various strands of inquiry. First, it offers a detailed analysis of the reasons for the creation of these courts and examines their jurisdictional, institutional and procedural features, answering questions such as: what are the disputes that international commercial courts hear? Who sits on the bench of these courts and who may argue cases? How do international commercial courts conduct their proceedings, and how different are the proceedings within ordinary courts? Second, to complement the first line of inquiry, the book scrutinises the motivations and/or constraints of jurisdictions that have decided against launching their own versions of ' international commercial courts' . Finally, and most crucially, it systematically reviews the impact and the success of international commercial courts, addressing questions such as: what are the metrics of success, and is success wholly dependent on size of the docket? What role do the courts play in international commercial dispute resolution? What contributions can we expect from them in the future? Are these courts necessary? In addressing these questions, this text advances our understanding of the role of international commercial courts in the resolution of cross-border disputes. MAN YIP is a Professor of Law, Associate Dean (Faculty Matters & Research) and the V3 Group Professor in Family Entrepreneurship at the Yong Pung How School of Law at Singapore Management University. She graduated with an LLB from the National University of Singapore and obtained her BCL from the University of Oxford, where she was in residence at Keble College. Her research has been cited by the Singapore Court of Appeal, the Singapore High Court and the High Court of England and Wales. GIESELA RÜ HL is a Professor of Law at Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany. She is a member of the European Law Institute, the International Academy of Comparative Law and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. She serves as the Secretary General of the European Association of Private International Law (EAPIL). Her research has received awards from the Max Planck Society, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the American Society of International Law.

International Arbitration Law Library Volume 59 The eastward shift in international dispute resolution has already involved initiatives not only to improve support for international commercial arbitration (ICA) and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) but also to develop alternatives such as international commercial courts and mediation. Focusing on these initiatives and their accompanying case law and trends in the Asia-Pacific region, this invaluable book challenges existing procedures and frameworks for cross-border dispute resolution in both commercial and treaty arbitration. Specially assembled for this project, an outstanding team of experienced and insightful arbitrators and scholars describes pertinent developments including: ICA and ISDS in the context of China’s Belt and Road Initiative; the Singapore Convention on Mediation; the shift to virtual hearings and other challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic; mistrust of the application of the rule of law in certain East Asian jurisdictions; growing public concern over ISDS arbitration; tensions between confidentiality and transparency; and potential regional harmonisation of the public policy exception to arbitral enforcement. The contributors chart evolving practices and high-profile cases to make informed observations about where changes are needed, as well as educated guesses about the chances of reforms being successful and the consequences if they are not. The main jurisdictions covered are China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, India, Australia and Singapore. The first in-depth study of recent trends in dispute resolution practice related to business in the Asia-Pacific region, the book’s practical analysis of new resources for dealing with the increasing competition among countries to become credible regional dispute resolution hubs will prove to be of great value to specialists in the international business law sector. Lawyers will be enabled to make informed decisions on which venue and dispute resolution methods are the most suitable for any specific dispute in the region, and policymakers will confidently assess emerging trends in international dispute resolution policy development and treaty-making.

This is the fourth edition of this highly regarded work on the law of international commercial litigation as practised in the English courts. As such it is primarily concerned with how commercial disputes which have connections with more than one country are dealt with by the English courts. Much of the law which provides the framework for the resolution of such disputes is derived from international instruments, including recent Conventions and Regulations which have significantly re-shaped the law in the European Union. The scope and impact of these European instruments is fully explained and assessed in this new edition. The work is organised in four parts. The first part considers the jurisdiction of the English courts and the recognition and enforcement in England of judgments granted by the courts of other countries. This part of the work, which involves analysis of both the Brussels I Regulation and the so-called traditional rules, includes chapters dealing with jurisdiction in personam and in rem, anti-suit injunctions and provisional measures. The work's second part focuses on the rules which determine whether English law or the law of another country is applicable to a given situation. The part includes a discussion of choice of law in contract and tort, with particular attention being devoted to the recent Rome I and Rome II Regulations. The third part of the work includes three new chapters on international aspects of insolvency (in particular, under the EC Insolvency Regulation) and the final part focuses on an analysis of legal aspects of international commercial arbitration. In particular, this part examines: the powers of the English courts to support or supervise an arbitration; the effect of an arbitration agreement on the jurisdiction of the English courts; the law which governs an arbitration agreement and the parties' dispute; and the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitration awards. This title is included in Bloomsbury Professional's International Arbitration online service.

This book "provides a comprehensive critical evaluation of the institutional design and procedural rules of established and emerging international business courts. It focuses on major European and global centres. It assesses to what extent these courts, the competition between them and their interrelationship with arbitration, contribute to justice innovation. It considers their impact on access to justice and the global litigation market, as well as their effect on the rule of law"--

The bulk of international commercial disputes are resolved by national courts. In Asia, regional international arbitration centres in places such as Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo have also been partaking in these exercises albeit at varying levels of popularity. While commercial arbitrations remain popular, the influence of these bodies in driving convergence has been questioned. This has been in part due to the confidential nature of their awards and their ad hoc nature. The uptake of international commercial instruments in the region is growing, but the extent of harmonization of international commercial law remains weak. Even in countries such as Australia that have taken steps to adopt international commercial instruments, the efficacy of international law has been called into question. Application of these international rules have not been promising. In this regard, the lacklustre performance of the Convention for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) could be cited. There is no doubt that judicial institutions play a crucial role in achieving the lofty ideal of harmonisation. At the other end of the spectrum, the establishment of fully blown regional international courts for commercial disputes is further away. This has been hampered by the obvious sovereignty concerns and the relative success of international commercial arbitration. It has been a little over a year since Singapore, a country that is already one of the most preferred arbitration destinations in the world, moved to establish an International Commercial Court, a unique institution that pushed the frontiers of cross border commercial dispute resolution. The Court heard its first case in May 2015 on a referral from the High Court. This case involved a dispute between Indonesian and Australian mining companies. The court is unique in that it allows appointment of foreign judges and dispenses with the application of Singapore's Rules of Evidence. Naturally all Singapore regular courts are expected to apply the Singapore Rules of Evidence in disputes before them. However, an exception is made in regards to matters coming before the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC), where on application of the parties the Singapore Rules of Evidence may be disapplied pursuant to Order 110, Rule 23.2 as will be discussed later in this essay, this hybrid institution promises to combine the best of international commercial arbitration and that of judicial settlement of disputes. Elsewhere in Asia, we have had the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts of First Instance and Appeal, the Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre and, most recently, the Abu Dhabi Global Market Courts. The need for specialised commercial division has long been recognised in places like London, Delaware North, and Victoria in Australia. It is one thing to have a commercial division and yet another to make these divisions have an international orientation. This paper seeks to put these developments in comparative perspectives and examine normative, procedural, institutional issues and practical challenges that such endeavours entail. It will also assess and critically examine the legal/legislative infrastructure required to accommodate the establishment of hybrid judicial organs for cross border commercial disputes.

Drawing on a large and varied body of judicial and arbitral case law, this book provides a comprehensive, original, and up-to-date account of the role of equity in international law.