International Judicial Monitor
Published by the American Society of International Law and the International Judicial Academy
April 2008 Issue
 

Justice Sector Assessment

 
New Courthouse in London is Blockbuster News

Her Majesty’s Courts Service Building a new courthouse is not particularly significant news of interest to judges and lawyers, and building a new courthouse devoted exclusively for business cases may rank higher up the newsworthy ladder but not by much. However, building a new courthouse devoted exclusively for international business matters in London qualifies as big news. Add to that fact a claim that this new business courthouse in London will house the “biggest dedicated business court in the world,” then the news belongs in the “blockbuster” category of world class dimensions of interest to judges and lawyers around the globe.

London has long been recognized as a center for international business litigation; however, there have been problems on how many different courts handle cases and of the quality of the physical facilities in which they are heard. International business litigation and other business cases are now filed in four different English courts: the Royal Courts of Justice, the Chancery Division, the Commercial Court, and the Technology and Construction Court. Although two of these courts are currently located in St. Dunstan’s House on Fetter Lane in Central London near Fleet Street and the Royal Courts of Justice, the facilities of the building are old, crowded, and not suitable for adaptation or modification for the needs of the modern international business community.

The new Business Courthouse, which will also be located on Fetter Lane, will incorporate the business case work of the aforementioned four courts and receive cases involving international contract disputes, bankruptcy, patents, trademarks, technical construction, and admiralty matters.

The new structure to be completed in 2010 will be called the Rolls Building and will have 29 courtrooms, 12 hearing rooms for bankruptcy proceedings, 44 consultation rooms, and sophisticated waiting rooms for users. High technology will characterize the courtrooms. Rolls Building will have 260,000 square feet of usable space, of which 145,000 will be dedicated to administrative offices of Her Majesty’s Courts Service (HMCS) that administers the court system.

The idea of a new Business Court for London was the product of HMCS and was first presented in September 2005. The rationale for the new courthouse was: (1) the inadequacy of current facilities, (2) the advantages of keeping HMCS in central London, and (3) the national economic interest in having such a facility in London to insure “the retention of UK commercial law as the global commercial law of choice.”

The Executive Director of HMCS, Sir Ron De Witt, said that the aim of the new facility is to “ensure that businesses have the best facilities for commercial dispute resolution and to provide first class service for court users. This court will ensure our position in the global community as a centre of excellence.”

The UK Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, added his comments about the new courthouse:

The new Business Court will house a world class institution to match the UK’s world class reputation for business law which attracts cases from across the globe. The UK’s legal reputation in the business industry is already highly respected across the world: this tailor-made building will cement that reputation and put us head and shoulders above our world competitors.

HMCS has established a Users Committee of judges and barristers to make recommendations concerning changes in the structures of courts occupying the building as well as the development of common procedures for those courts.

By James G. Apple, Co-Editor of the International Judicial Monitor and President, International Judicial Academy

ASIl & International Judicial Academy International Judicial Monitor
© 2008 – The American Society of International Law and International Judicial Academy.

Editors: James G. Apple, Veronica Onorevole and Andrew Solomon.
IJM welcomes comments, suggestions, and submissions.
Please contact the IJM editors at IJM@asil.org.