Figures from consultancy Portland's annual report Who Uses the Commercial Court? shows that this year the UK accounted for 37 per cent of the total number of commerical court litigants, compared to 23 per cent last year. In total, the court heard 207 cases, an increase of 88 from the previous year. The head of Portland’s legal disputes practice, Idil Oyman, said: ‘We’ll have to see in 12 months’ time if the resurgence of UK litigants is a one-off or whether this is the start of a longer-term reversal of the dominance of foreign litigants in the Commercial Court.’

New financial list 

The news comes after Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, the Lord Chief of Justice, confirmed a new financial list would be established for complex financial cases. Among those backing Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd's specialist list is The City of London Law Society, which said: ‘It is important for the English courts to improve, and be seen to improve, the service they provide to international litigants rather than merely to rest on the courts’ historic laurels’. Source: Portland