Representatives from all sides of the commercial legal world have taken part in a lively debate on whether steps are needed to preserve the international reputation of the Commercial Court.
The Commercial Court Symposium, held on October 30, was an invitation-only event for some 100 delegates, including users, arbitrators, academics, solicitors, barristers and representatives of the judiciary.
Mr Justice David Steel, Judge in Charge of the Commercial Court, said of the decision to hold the event: “The background to the symposium was some expressions of concern, both from the legal profession and in the City, about the size and expense – and ultimate collapse – of claims in the BCCI and Equitable Life litigation. It struck us that we needed to take stock and to see whether some lessons could be drawn about the future from these two cases, which by any standards were unusually large.”
Substantial contributions were made by Stephen Pearson, Head of Group Litigation at RBS and Sean McGovern, Director and General Counsel at Lloyd’s, from the perspective of customers of the court. Other speakers included Simon Davis, President of the London Solicitors Litigation Association, Professor Ross Cranston, Centennial Professor of Law at the LSE, Robin Knowles QC, Chairman of the Commercial Bar Association, and the Hon. Mr Justice Cooke, one of the judges of the Commercial Court. Both the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips, and the Master of the Rolls, Sir Anthony Clarke, participated, together with numerous other interventions from the floor. A large number of written submissions were also considered.
Key suggestions from the Symposium, which are likely to be adopted in some form in a revision of the Admiralty and Commercial Court Guide, included:
- widespread allocation of cases to specific judges
- listing of cases to ensure adequate reading time
- vigorous exercise of case management powers
- facility for indications from the judge as to the merits
- restrictions on expensive disclosure of electronic material
- limitation of length and cost of witness statements
- imposition of realistic but strict timetables.
Contributors also made reference to the possibility of relaxation of the test for striking out claims, the provision of a system for summary trial, the more ready availability of a submission of no-case to answer and the need for avoidance of undue interference by the Court of Appeal in case management decisions.
Mr Justice Steel believes the debate was “pretty timely” – “not just because of the expressions of concern over the length of cases, but also because the Government is about to approve the construction of a new business court building. Against that background, no court with our good reputation can afford to stand still; we must always try to improve things”.
It is proposed that Commercial Court Users Committee set up a standing sub-committee to make suggestions for amendments to the Guide.
Notes to editors:
- The number of cases given trial dates rose from 222 in 2004 to 277 in 2005. The settlement rate was about 65 per cent of cases where trial dates were given.
- There are 16 or so High Court judges who sit in the Commercial Court, but usually a maximum of nine will be sitting at any one time.
- In the year ending July 31, 2005, the Commercial Court heard 97 trials.
- The number of claims where at least one claimant and one defendant originate from outside the UK constitute about 50 per cent of the total.
- The number of claims where at least one claimant or one defendant originate from outside the UK constitute about 80 per cent of the total.
- The vast majority of cases brought to the Commercial Court are for sums of over £1 million. The largest case in the past year was a claim for £1 billion.
