15 - The Interplay between International Commercial Courts and Ordinary Courts

Summary

The recent emergence of international commercial courts as a distinct species of court raises numerous legal issues as to the relationship and interaction between those courts and pre-existing national courts. In some jurisdictions, such as Singapore, the relationship between the courts has been harmonious. Yet in others the creation of new, international commercial courts has fomented conflicts or 'turf wars' between the courts. This potential behavioural aspect of courts is not new, and one may find examples from English legal history of rivalries between courts. On occasion those rivalries are evident in the modern world, including in relation to the international commercial courts of Dubai. This chapter considers historical examples of conflicts within the English court system and the nature of international commercial courts, and discusses instances from Dubai of where the DIFC and Dubai courts have clashed.