CLD webinar: Commercial Courts in a Global Context

July 27, 2021

12.00-14.00 British Summer Time (GMT+1)

Event flyer here.

Co-sponsored by the University of Oxford (China, Law & Development), Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development & Management Company, Ease of Doing Business in Pakistan, Pakistan-China Joint Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and Center for International Investment and Commercial Arbitration.

In recent years, a number of states and municipalities have established new commercial courts which are perceived by some to be the building blocks of economic development and global commerce. These new commercial courts include those that are designed primarily for domestic disputes and others geared toward international disputes. The new international courts share a common aspiration: to provide forums for the resolution of commercial conflicts that are cheap, quick, and whose judgments are enforceable.

As part of its Ease of Doing Business Reforms Agenda, Pakistan has recently established commercial courts at the district level. The new commercial courts dovetail with a number of macro-economic and geostrategic trends, including the rise of Asia, and China in particular, as a supplier of both outbound capital and dispute resolution, and the increasing diversification of forums across the world.

This webinar will provide an in-depth discussion of the new domestic and international commercial courts with a focus on topics including jurisdiction and legislative basis, regulatory framework, relationship to the domestic court system, staffing and personnel issues, the courts-arbitration nexus, and cross-border disputes and associated enforcement issues.  The panel of speakers, including judges and lawyers from Pakistan, the UK, Singapore, and China, will share insights with the launch and evolution of these new courts in the context of both dynamic domestic and global legal transformations.

We sincerely thank all the speakers: 

• Dr Michael Hwang, Former Chief Justice of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts.
• SUN Xiangzhuang, Judge of the PRC Supreme Court and the China International Commercial Court.
• YANG Enqian, Deputy Chief Judge of the Suzhou International Commercial Court (China).
• Nudra B. Majeed, Barrister and Head of Chambers, NBM Law Chambers, Pakistan.
• Christopher Campbell-Holt, Registrar & Chief Executive, AIFC Court & International Arbitration Centre
• Justice Mushir Alam, Senior Puisne Judge, Supreme Court of Pakistan.
• Justice Jawad Hassan, Commercial Judge, Lahore High Court Pakistan