Journal Name: Contemporary Asia Arbitration Journal

Volume Number: 11

Issue Number: 2

Abstract:

In part because of the desire to compete with the Commercial Court in London, especially as Brexit is looming, and in part as an alternative to arbitration, we have seen in recent years the creation (or planned creation) of numerous international commercial courts at the national level, some functioning in English and with specialised, and sometime foreign, judges (Dubai, Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt, Brussels, China and Singapore). In Part II, the article will look at these courts and what they offer. In Part III, it will then look in more detail at the new Singapore International Commercial Court—its jurisdiction, the fact that it has foreign judges, that foreign lawyers may appear before it, that it may use different rules of evidence. In Part IV, it will then look at the effect this court may have on arbitration since it competes directly with arbitration when parties choose this court instead of going to arbitration. This will involve looking at the advantages and disadvantages of this court compared to other international commercial courts and to arbitration.