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Business and Property Courts Launched – July 2017

From July 2017, the specialist civil courts are to be known as the “Business and Property Courts of England and Wales”.

The Business and Property Courts is the new name for England and Wales’ international dispute resolution jurisdictions and will act as a single umbrella for business specialist courts across England and Wales.

Business and Property Courts will encompass the specialist courts and lists of the High Court, namely:-

• the Commercial Court, (including the Admiralty Court and Mercantile Court),
• the Technology and Construction Court (“TCC”), and
• the courts of the Chancery Division (including those dealing with financial services, intellectual property, competition, and insolvency). 

The new arrangements will preserve the familiar practices and procedures of these courts, whilst allowing for more flexible cross-deployment of judges with suitable expertise and experience to sit on appropriate business and property cases.

This new structure together with the Financial List and the Shorter and Flexible Trial Scheme, will enhance the UK’s already respected reputation for international dispute resolution; and will play a part in ensuring that Britain continues to provide the best business court-based dispute resolution service in the world, served by a top-class independent judiciary.

All the judges, masters, and registrars in bankruptcy of the Rolls Building will be involved in the Business and Property Courts, as will many judges in the specialist district registries of the High Court outside of London, in Business and Property Courts in Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol and Cardiff.

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