Abstract
This chapter aims to provide a general background and overview of the so-called International Commercial Courts (ICCs) recently established in various states in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In essence, ICCs are specialised English-speaking commercial courts that focus on international commercial dispute resolution. ICCs are as such often in direct competition with international commercial arbitration, yet the line between them has become increasingly blurred in some aspects.
ICCs are more grounded in history than often presumed. They build forth upon an enduring legacy of “internationalised” national or “hybrid” courts, i.e. courts which have an international element such as serving foreign judges. This practice has existed throughout the ages and continues to be the norm in various jurisdictions worldwide, including in certain major legal hubs such as Hong Kong. Especially the colonial-era mixed courts invite comparisons with ICCs as these courts often also acted as a special forum for foreign businesses and interests. Plus ça change?
This Chapter originates from my on-going PhD research. It is related to another forthcoming chapter of mine on the contextualisation of Mixed Arbitral Tribunals - Theus (2021). I would like to thank all members of my supervisory Committee: my promoter Geert Van Calster, my copromotor Wim Decock, Gleider Hernández, Julien Chaisse and Georgios Dimitroupoulos for their remarks and exchanges. I would also like to thank Michel Erpelding for giving me an early copy of his entries on mixed courts for the Max Planck Encylopedias of International Law. All mistakes are mine alone.
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Notes
- 1.
Bookman (2020a), pp. 261–264.
- 2.
ADGM Courts, Digital Approach, https://www.adgm.com/adgm-courts/digital-approach.
- 3.
Erpelding (2020a), para 41.
- 4.
- 5.
A more comprehensive historical contextualisation and a deeper look at certain similarities between the other mixed legal institutions and ICCs has been offered elsewhere by myself: Theus (2021).
- 6.
Liu (1925), p. 9.
- 7.
Guterman (1966).
- 8.
- 9.
Lupoi and Belton (2010), pp. 388–405. However, the very naming and definition of these concepts might be a nineteenth century invention by scholars of that time. See: Kannowski (2017), pp. 477–480. More research on these concepts and their exact demarcation is required, especially seeing that the concepts of “nation” and “territory” were interpreted differently depending on the region and time.
- 10.
- 11.
Norwich (1983), pp. 82–83. The term Holy Roman Empire is only used from 962 onwards, hence the use of the term Roman Emperor here.
- 12.
Norwich (1983), pp. 82–83.
- 13.
Norwich (1983), p. 83.
- 14.
Liu (1925), p. 11.
- 15.
- 16.
For example in Sicily, with the establishment of new Norman Kingdom, the Muslims were allowed Muslims to continue to operate their own courts. See: Davis-Secord (2007), p. 49. Likewise Persians certainly had a consular court in Egypt in the twentieth century as demonstrated in Salem Case, United States (on behalf of Salem) v Egypt, Award, (1949) II RIAA 1161, (1945) 6 ILR 188, 8th June 1932, p. 1168.
- 17.
Bartolomei (2018), para 1.
- 18.
Erpelding (2020a), para 7.
- 19.
Buxbaum (2009), pp. 632–633.
- 20.
For example for Belgian-ruled Congo see: Sohier (1938), pp. 288–289.
- 21.
Requejo Isidro and Hess (2019), pp. 239–276.
- 22.
See Theus (2021).
- 23.
- 24.
The concepts “civilised” and “uncivilised” or “semicivilised” worlds were never really clearly defined. A discussion hereof falls out of the scope of this chapter; for more on this see: Heraclides and Dialla (2015).
- 25.
Kayaoğlu (2010).
- 26.
The term subjects is to be interpreted widely in some cases, including non-European subjects from the direct colonies. For the situation in Siam for example see: Sayre (1929), p. 75 ff.
- 27.
Erpelding (2020a), para 7.
- 28.
See for example the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce between Siam and Great Britain, signed at Bangkok, April 18, 1855, https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Bowring_Treaty.
Sometimes different terms are used or these treaties are expanded to also deal with navigation; e.g. Treaty of Peace, Amity, Commerce and Navigation.
- 29.
Jacob (2014), para 10.
- 30.
Muslu (2014).
- 31.
- 32.
- 33.
Brown (1997), p. 132.
- 34.
Erpelding (2020a), para 22.
- 35.
- 36.
- 37.
Stephens (1992); Cassel (2020); Hudson (1927b); Kotenev (1925); United States Department of State, Report of the Commission on Extraterritoriality in China, September 16, 1926, https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001153343.
- 38.
- 39.
Cassel (2013).
- 40.
Ben Achour (2007).
- 41.
Erpelding (2020a), para 17.
- 42.
Al-Muhairi (1996).
- 43.
Brown (1997), p. 133. This was to be a “joint court” (see infra). There were most likely other mixed courts—this is ongoing research.
- 44.
Erpelding (2020a), paras 9–10. Also note that some mixed courts were coined as a “joint court” if only two nations were involved with the setting up. However, in French they were still called tribunaux mixtes.
- 45.
Erpelding (2020a), paras 1 & 18.
- 46.
Erpelding (2020a), para 11 & paras 16–17.
- 47.
Erpelding (2020a), para 8.
- 48.
Erpelding (2020a), para 41.
- 49.
- 50.
Erpelding (2020a), para 20.
- 51.
Erpelding (2020a), paras 15–23.
- 52.
Note that not all special international zones throughout history had mixed courts. For example the Free City of Danzig or the Free Territory of Trieste were under international supervision but never had mixed courts.
- 53.
Morrison (2006), para 1.
- 54.
- 55.
Convention between Germany and Poland relating to Upper Silesia, 9 LNTS 465, 118 BSP 365, (1867–1945) RGBl Teil II, 238.
- 56.
- 57.
- 58.
With the exception of the United States of America. Erpelding and Rherrousse (2019), paras 51–65.
- 59.
Erpelding and Rherrousse (2019), para 27.
- 60.
Cassel (2020), para 5.
- 61.
Sayre (1929), pp. 75–77. Note, that despite the use of the term “international” they were a mixed court.
- 62.
Chiasson (2019), para 1.
- 63.
This was the case for British, French, Italian and Danish subjects according to Sayre (1929), p. 76.
- 64.
Chiasson (2019), paras 6–7.
- 65.
Chiasson (2019), para 7 & paras 16–19.
- 66.
Chiasson (2019), para 28.
- 67.
Sayre (1929), p. 78 ff.
- 68.
- 69.
Erpelding (2020b), para 25.
- 70.
Erpelding (2020b), paras 42–59.
- 71.
For the full overview see: Erpelding (2020b), paras 32–41.
- 72.
Hoyle (1985), p. 341.
- 73.
Brinton (1968), pp. 144–146; Yip (2019), para 3.3.3; DIFC Academy, Guidelines for Registration of Practitioners, https://www.draacademy.ae/services/registration-practitioners/guidelines-registration-practitioners/.
- 74.
Bechor (2007).
- 75.
Feyissa (2018), paras 2–22.
- 76.
Feyissa (2018), paras 23–39.
- 77.
Erpelding (2020a), para 23.
- 78.
The Case of Kieng Chek Kham Muon before the Franco-Siamese Mixed Court: Constitution of the Mixed Court and rules of procedure, 1894, Bangkok, https://archive.org/details/caseofkiengchekk00franrich/page/n9/mode/2up.
- 79.
Erpelding (2020a), para 41.
- 80.
- 81.
Erpelding (2020a), para 38.
- 82.
Charnovitz (2014).
- 83.
Roberts (2021), p. 1.
- 84.
Leboulanger (2016).
- 85.
Leboulanger (2016), p. 26.
- 86.
BBC News, Vanuatu Country Profile, 11 June 2018, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16426193.
- 87.
Al-Muhairi (1996), p. 126.
- 88.
Deehring (2020), p. 221. More research on this court—established in 1971—is necessary in order to categorise this court as its composition is unclear, but most likely it did involve judges from other Arab countries such as Egypt and Iraq and as such could be deemed to be a hybrid court (see Sect. 3).
- 89.
Sayre (1929), p. 84.
- 90.
Mednicoff (2019).
- 91.
- 92.
Erpelding (2020c), pp. 460–465.
- 93.
Brinton (1950), p. 303.
- 94.
Erpelding (2020c).
- 95.
Iran-US Claims Tribunal, Award of 10 March 2020 (case No. A15 (II:A)), para 139.
- 96.
Selby and Stewart (1984), pp. 215–216.
- 97.
Erpelding (2020b), paras 10 & 56–57. The judicial charter of the Mixed Courts was considered to be a treaty; the laws they applied were also based on a treaty.
- 98.
Moreale v Stewens, Mixed Court of Appeal of Tangier (20 June 1930) - AF 12 A-2 (Belgian Diplomatic Archives).
- 99.
- 100.
CJEU Case 6/64, Costa v. ENEL, 15 July 1964, ECLI:EU:C:1964:66.
- 101.
Erpelding (2020c), p. 461; Court of Justice of the European Union, Former Members of the Court of Justice, https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/jcms/p1_217426/en/.
- 102.
Erpelding (2020c), p. 461.
- 103.
Association Professionnelle des Dentistes v Nordlund, Mixed Court of Tangier (20 December 1948) – AF 12 A-2 (Belgian Diplomatic Archives); Hoyle (1986), pp. 445–446.
- 104.
- 105.
- 106.
Baaz (2020), paras 13–22.
- 107.
Dixon and Jackson (2019), pp. 286–288.
- 108.
Dziedzic (2018).
- 109.
Article 92 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong of 4 April 1990, https://www.basiclaw.gov.hk/en/basiclawtext/index.html.
- 110.
Article 87 of the Lei Básica da Região Administrativa Especial de Macau da República Popular da China of 31 March 1999, https://bo.io.gov.mo/bo/i/1999/leibasica/index.asp.
- 111.
For example for the Court of Appeal of the Bailiwick of Jersey:
The Judges of the Court of Appeal shall be the Bailiff, the Deputy Bailiff and such persons as may be appointed by Her Majesty to be ordinary judges of the Court of Appeal, being persons who –
(a) hold or have held judicial office in the Commonwealth;
(b) have been at least 10 years in practice at the Bar in Jersey, whether as a Law Officer of the Crown or otherwise; or
(c) have been at least 10 years in practice at the Bar in England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Guernsey or the Isle of Man. (see Part 1, Article 2 Court of Appeal (Jersey) Law, 161 (revised edition), https://www.jerseylaw.je/laws/revised/Pages/07.245.aspx.
- 112.
Aruba, Curacao & Sint-Maarten are countries within the Kingdom, whereas Bonaire, Sint-Eustatius and Saba are an integral part of the Netherlands (though they have a special status).
- 113.
Het Gemeenschappelijk Hof van Justitie van Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten en van Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba, Jaarverslag 2019, https://indd.adobe.com/view/0b091ce2-d1b7-4e26-90c8-1a2f3cc0c264, p. 8.
- 114.
Mednicoff (2019).
- 115.
- 116.
Caribbean Court of Justice, About the CCJ, https://www.ccj.org/about-the-ccj/.
- 117.
Dixon and Jackson (2019).
- 118.
Dixon and Jackson (2019).
- 119.
Dziedzic (2020).
- 120.
Kihara T, Finance leads Hong Kong’s first business exodus in 11 years, Nikei Asia, 5 December 2020, https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Finance/Finance-leads-Hong-Kong-s-first-business-exodus-in-11-years.
- 121.
- 122.
Bookman (2020a), pp. 261–264.
- 123.
DIFC, DIFC Courts and Smart Dubai launch joint taskforce for world’s first Court of the Blockchain, https://www.difc.ae/newsroom/news/difc-courts-and-smart-dubai-launch-joint-taskforce-worlds-first-court-blockchain/.
- 124.
ADGM Courts, Digital Approach, https://www.adgm.com/adgm-courts/digital-approach.
- 125.
Lambert J, The Abu Dhabi Global Market Courts hear their First Case, 13 January 2018, http://nipc-gulf.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-abu-dhabi-global-market-courts-hear.html.
- 126.
Van Calster G, The Brussels International Business Court – Council of State continues to resist, 21 March 2019, https://gavclaw.com/2018/11/14/the-brussels-international-business-court-council-of-state-continues-to-resist/.
- 127.
Bookman (2020b), pp. 22–25.
- 128.
Blair (2019), p. 216.
- 129.
Requejo Isidro (2019), pp. 1–2.
- 130.
Standing International Forum of Commercial Courts, About Us, https://sifocc.org/about-us/.
- 131.
The London Commercial Court for example was founded in 1895. See: Courts of the Queen’s Bench Division, Commercial Court, About Us – The History of the Court, https://www.judiciary.uk/you-and-the-judiciary/going-to-court/high-court/queens-bench-division/courts-of-the-queens-bench-division/commercial-court/about-us/.
- 132.
See for example in India: Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Act, 2015 (https://prsindia.org/files/bills_acts/bills_parliament/2015/Commercial_courts_bill_2015_dec_0.pdf). Also note that some ICCs do have a system for “local” affairs, such as the DIFC Small Claims court.
- 133.
Ruckteschler and Stooss (2019).
- 134.
Hybrid in a sense of mixing litigation and arbitral practices; not the hybrid courts as discussed above in Sect. 3. Bookman (2020b); Chaisse J and Tanwar A, New Courts, New Perspectives: Hybrid International commercial courts, 21 May 2020, https://asialawportal.com/2020/05/21/new-courts-new-perspectives-hybrid-international-commercial-courts/#_ftn3.
- 135.
Blanke (2019).
- 136.
The hybrid Hong Kong High Court and hybrid ICCs are thus similar, with the only differences being their original outlook, procedure and date of establishment.
- 137.
Mills (2018), p. 3.
- 138.
Dimitropoulos (2021), pp. 5–8.
- 139.
Bookman (2020a), pp. 239–257.
- 140.
UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2019, https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/wir2019_en.pdf, p. 128.
- 141.
The distinction between free zones and SEZ’s also needs to be made. For more on this discussion see Bost (2019), pp. 142–143.
- 142.
Dimitropoulos (2021), p. 5.
- 143.
- 144.
Dimitropoulos (2021), pp. 5–6.
- 145.
DIFC Academy, Guidelines for Registration of Practitioners, https://www.draacademy.ae/services/registration-practitioners/guidelines-registration-practitioners/.
- 146.
Hwang M, The Courts of the Dubai International Finance Centre — A Common Law island in a Civil Law ocean, 1 November 2008, https://www.difccourts.ae/2008/11/01/the-courts-of-the-dubai-international-finance-centre-a-common-law-island-in-a-civil-law-ocean/.
- 147.
Application of English Law Regulations 2015, as amended, adopted by the ADGM Board of Directors, 3 March 2015, https://en.adgm.thomsonreuters.com/rulebook/application-english-law-regulations-2015-0. Yet this “export” must be nuanced, see Reynolds (2017), pp. 184–186.
- 148.
Qatar Financial Centre Authority v Silver Leaf Capital Partners LLC, case no: 0001/2009, paras 33 & 35; Dahlan and El-Sherif (2008).
- 149.
Sharar and Al Khulaifi (2016), pp. 546–547.
- 150.
Bookman and Erie (2021).
- 151.
See for example: the ADGM Arbitration Centre (ADGMAC) and the connected ADGM Arbitration Regulations 2015.
- 152.
See: Woolf (2019), p. 19.
- 153.
Erie (2019).
- 154.
Sassen (2004).
- 155.
Erpelding (2020a), para 39.
- 156.
Although all these SEZ use English Common Law to some extent, there does not appear to be any clear UK diplomatic involvement.
- 157.
I have opted for this concept so as not to confuse with the more general arbitral court.
- 158.
Jeuland (2016).
- 159.
Landgericht Frankfurt am Mein, Chamber for International Commercial Disputes, https://ordentliche-gerichtsbarkeit.hessen.de/ordentliche-gerichte/lgb-frankfurt-am-main/lg-frankfurt-am-main/chamber-international.
- 160.
Hamburger Justiz, English-Speaking Civil Division and Commercial Division at the Regional Court of Hamburg, https://justiz.hamburg.de/landgericht-hamburg/zustaendigkeit/.
- 161.
Reguejo Isidro M, New Courts for International Commercial Disputes in Germany, 23 November 2020, https://eapil.org/2020/11/23/new-courts-for-international-commercial-disputes-in-germany/.
- 162.
- 163.
For the NCC for example see: NCC, Jurisdiction and NCC agreement, https://www.rechtspraak.nl/English/NCC/Pages/jurisdiction-and-agreement.aspx.
- 164.
Commercial Court Stuttgart & Mannheim, FAQ - what language is used, https://www.commercial-court.de/en/faq.
- 165.
Rühl (2021), pp. 10–15.
- 166.
Rühl (2021), pp. 15–16.
- 167.
- 168.
See Section 18A, Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Cap 322).
- 169.
SICC, Judges, https://www.sicc.gov.sg/about-the-sicc/judges.
- 170.
Yip (2019), para 3.3.3.
- 171.
Yip (2019), para 3.1.
- 172.
Sun (2020), pp. 46–48.
- 173.
Sun (2020), p. 49.
- 174.
Chaisse and Qian (2021), pp. 20–21.
- 175.
Chaisse and Qian (2021), pp. 18–19.
- 176.
CICC, A Brief Introduction of China International Commercial Court, 28 June 2018, http://cicc.court.gov.cn/html/1/219/193/195/index.html.
- 177.
Chaisse and Qian (2021), p. 17.
- 178.
Legislative Decree No. (30) for the year 2009 with respect to the Bahrain Chamber for Economic, Financial and Investment Dispute Resolution (“BCDR Decree”) as amended by Legislative Decree No. (64) of 2014. Only two early articles mention the BCDR as an ICC: Karrar-Lewsley (2011) and Mainwaring-Taylor (2010).
- 179.
SIFoCC, Bahrain, https://sifocc.org/countries/bahrain/.
- 180.
Chapter 1 BCDR Decree.
- 181.
Art. 9 BCDR Decree.
- 182.
Art. 9 BCDR Decree.
- 183.
Art. 1 BCDR Decree.
- 184.
Art. 12 BCDR Decree.
- 185.
Art. 11 BCDR Decree.
- 186.
Art. 26 BCDR Decree.
- 187.
Art 15 BCDR Decree.
- 188.
Art. 13 BCDR Decree.
- 189.
Karrar-Lewsley (2011), p. 85.
- 190.
BCDRA AAA, The Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution and the Bahrain Association of Banks Inaugural Seminar, 25 November 2018, https://www.bcdr-aaa.org/the-bahrain-chamber-for-dispute-resolution-and-the-bahrain-association-of-banks-inaugural-seminar. More recent numbers could not be found as they are not split in the annual report of 2019.
- 191.
BCDR, Informations générales, https://www.bcdr-aaa.org/fr/.
- 192.
Karrar-Lewsley (2011), pp. 86–89.
- 193.
Townsend and Bedrosyan (2017).
- 194.
Wetsontwerp houdende oprichting van het Brussels International Business Court, 10 December 2018 (DOC 54 3072/011), https://www.dekamer.be/doc/flwb/pdf/54/3072/54k3072011.pdf, Arts. 7, 22, 37 & 60.
- 195.
Karrar-Lewsley (2011), p. 87.
- 196.
Dimitropoulos (2021), pp. 10–13.
- 197.
DIFC Courts, DIFC Courts launches new Arbitration Working Group, 4 October 2020, https://www.difccourts.ae/media-centre/newsroom/difc-courts-launches-new-arbitration-working-group-1.
- 198.
Jupille et al. (2013), pp. 129–131.
- 199.
Brinton (1930), pp. 230–231.
- 200.
Erpelding (2020b), paras 56–57.
- 201.
Erpelding (2020a), paras 33–37.
- 202.
Hafner-Burton and Victor (2016).
- 203.
Bungenberg and Alvarado Garzón (2019).
- 204.
Erpelding (2020a), para 41.
- 205.
Van Harten (2020), pp. 1–11.
- 206.
See for example Azana Aleme v Singer Sewing Machine Co. Ltd, Supreme Imperial Court (Div 7) Civil Appeal No. 1240/56 (21 June 1964), Journal of Ethiopian Law, Vol. II, No.2, 220–227. In this case a Ethiopian businessman, Azana Aleme, who owned the Sheba Sewing Centre in appeal won a trademark case against the large international Singer Sewing Company. Such cases are difficult today due to the high costs involved with international commercial/investment arbitration. According to a Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) 2011 survey of 254 arbitrations conducted between 1991 and 2010, the overall average cost of international arbitration was approximately GBP 1,580,000 for claimants, and approximately 12% less for respondents. See: CIArb, CIArb Costs of International Arbitration Survey 2011, https://www.international-arbitration-attorney.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/CIArb-Cost-of-International-Arbitration-Survey.pdf, p. 13.
- 207.
Hoyle (1987), p. 166.
- 208.
For example: how to effectively balance the different nationalities of the judges so that there is no dominating power or danger for foreign interference? In this sense it is interesting that many mixed courts employed judges from smaller European States such as Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Portugal to combat exactly that. All mixed courts worked in multiple languages, something which today is quite rare in courts throughout the globe despite the fact that there are many more technological tools in existence.
- 209.
Dziedzic (2020).
- 210.
Kochenov and Lavranos (2021).
- 211.
Carney J, Even Dubai Says It Won’t Bail Out Dubai World, Business Insider, 30 November 2009, https://www.businessinsider.com/even-dubai-says-it-wont-bail-out-dubai-world-2009-11?r=US&IR=T.
- 212.
Special Tribunal Related to Dubai World, About the Tribunal, https://www.dubaiworldtribunal.ae/about-the-tribunal/.
- 213.
Krishnan and Koster (2016), p. 401.
- 214.
Krishnan and Koster (2016), pp. 400–402.
- 215.
Krishnan and Koster (2016), pp. 412–413.
- 216.
Deehring (2020), p. 221.
- 217.
Krishnan (2018), p. 1.
- 218.
Krishnan (2018), p. 1.
- 219.
Krishnan (2018).
- 220.
- 221.
Mills (2018), p. 3.
- 222.
DIFC Courts, Protocols & Memoranda, https://www.difccourts.ae/about/protocols-memoranda (last accessed 30 January 2021).
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Theus, W. (2022). International Commercial Courts: A New Frontier in International Commercial Dispute Resolution? Lessons from the Mixed Courts of the Colonial Era. In: Bäumler, J., et al. European Yearbook of International Economic Law 2021. European Yearbook of International Economic Law, vol 12. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/8165_2021_81
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