England is an ideal international destination for dispute resolution due to its long-established and well-respected legal system, which recognises parties’ freedom to contract and is supportive of arbitration and commerce.
English law is based on well-founded principles, is transparent and provides predictability of outcome, legal certainty and fairness whilst also being flexible and responsive to the ever-changing world.
As well as a long-established legal system, England also benefits from English being the global language of business.
Parties choose to have their disputes heard in England because English arbitrators and judges are independent, experienced in dealing with international disputes, and are world class legal minds.
How England compares to other countries worldwide
The English courts are experienced in dealing with international disputes. In Portland’s Commercial Court Report 2021, in the period April 2020 to March 2021, parties of 75 different nationalities were found to have used the English Commercial Court to resolve their disputes, often without an English counterparty.
In terms of arbitration, London seated arbitrations continue to top the list in the annual International Arbitration Survey conducted by Queen Mary’s University as the most preferred seat for arbitration.
The type of disputes commonly resolved using English law
Due to the large number of specialist courts within the Business and Property Courts, English law is used to resolve a very wide variety of commercial disputes. These include; competition and anti-trust, insolvency, intellectual property, banking and financial services and other business-related disputes ranging from construction, insurance and reinsurance, commodities, business agency and operation of markets and exchanges, to the exploitation of oil and gas reserves or other natural resources and shipping and maritime.
London is home to well-established arbitral institutions and organisations such as the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), which in 2020 had a caseload dominated by disputes from the energy and resources, transport and commodities, and banking and finance sectors.
