Specialized State Courts — a Relevant Forum for Resolving International Commercial Disputes

Abstract

States in Asia, the Middle East and Europe improve their commercial contract law, reform judicial procedures and create innovative specialized courts to handle international commercial disputes so that their legal systems can play a meaningful role in the development of national economies in a globalized world. In a number of countries the creation of such specialized courts has broadened the choice of ways to protect participants in the global business community. Over the past ten to fifteen years, international trade (commercial) courts have been constituted in China, France, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, and Singapore. New initiatives to constitute such courts are underway; for example in Switzerland this issue is on the agenda of governmental authorities. The proliferation of international trade (commercial) courts in Europe, some Asian countries and other regions of the world raises considerable interest among an academic community as well as practitioners. This article provides an overview, based on foreign sources, of the procedure for resolving international commercial disputes by specialized courts. It identifies their key features (also in terms of procedural innovations) and the main reasons for their creation within the legal systems of individual states. The growing number of specialized courts, which adjudicate international commercial disputes, is conditional due to a number of reasons. Among them there are: 1) the need to strengthen the national economy, ensuring its competitiveness on a global scale; 2) increased competition for legal services markets; 3) the interest in ensuring the rule of law in international trade and financial activities; 4) the specialization of judicial activity; 5) increasing the prestige and reputation of national law in international markets. The formation of international trade (commercial) courts is an example of states support their economies in the arena of international business by using their power in the form of the judicial system, offering appropriate comfort, benefit, and advantage.