The English Courts are currently trying to persuade parties in less complex commercial cases to commence proceedings in the London Circuit Commercial Court (“LCCCt”), rather than the Commercial Court. Further, even where cases are commenced in the Commercial Court, the Court may itself recommend that proceedings be transferred to the LCCCt if the value of the claim is less than £5,000,000 and there are no other reasons for it to remain in the Commercial.
What Is The London Circuit Commercial Court?
The London Circuit Commercial Court (the “LCCCt”) is one of the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales’ specialist courts within the High Court. It decides business, commercial, property and other chancery disputes. The Circuit Commercial Courts, previously known as the Mercantile Courts, deal with business disputes of all kinds apart from those which, due to their size, value or complexity, need to be dealt with by the Commercial Court itself. The LCCCt is part of the King’s Bench Division of the High Court rather than the County Court, and as a circuit court, the LCCCt has counterparts in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, and Newcastle. The LCCCt is operated by a small number of specialist deputy High Court Judges (currently 13), most of whom are King’s Counsels (KCs). A number of these judges are highly experienced in shipping disputes, and five of them are authorized to sit as Judges of the Commercial Court.
What Type Of Cases Does The LCCCt Handle?
The LCCCt handles claims that would be fit for commencement in the Commercial Court by reason of their subject matter, but by virtue of their value or the factual technical or legal issues that arise, do not merit being dealt with by the Commercial Court. The types of claims that can be brought to the LCCCt include commercial contracts; export or import of goods, international carriage of goods by land sea or air; insurance and reinsurance; banking and financial services, commercial loan agreements, guarantees and indemnities; operation of markets and exchanges including those concerned with commodities of all types and financial products of all types including securities and currencies; share sale agreements; professional negligence; business agency and management agreements including those relating to professional sport; confidential information and the enforcement of post termination restraints in employment contact; ships or yachts (other than to the extent the claim falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Admiralty Court); or arbitrations including appeals and other challenges concerning arbitrations made under the Arbitration Act 1996 and the enforcement of Arbitral Awards.
A claim must also merit trial in the High Court, and the factual, technical, or legal issues that arise must require or benefit from the expertise of a Circuit Commercial Judge to resolve. In practical terms, the plurality of cases handled by the LCCCt are categorised as “general commercial contracts and arrangements”, which in 2022 comprised around 33% of cases handled, followed by miscellaneous cases at around 15%. The largest specific case type handled by the LCCCt was shipping (specifically cargo disputes), which made up roughly 12% of cases in 2022, followed by carriage of goods by land, air or pipeline at approximately 8% of the cases, with the remaining ~32% of cases divided relatively easily across the other categories.
Benefits To Cases
Broadly speaking, practitioners have a choice of which court to commence court proceedings in, and the LCCCt should be given consideration when it comes to resolving high-value commercial disputes efficiently. The LCCCt has committed to delivering timely justice with lead times that prioritize swift dispute resolution, so that the parties involved can expect their cases to progress efficiently to trial, even within 9-12 months of the First Case Management Conference for contested Civil Procedure Rules (“CPR”) Part 7 claims. The LCCCt is also worth considering in respect of less complex arbitration claims, which can be issued in or transferred into the LCCCt. For example, an application for leave to appeal under section 69 of the 1996 Arbitration Act will likely be dealt with quicker than in the Commercial Court, and trials under sections 67 and/or 69 are more likely to be listed for earlier dates in the LCCCt than in the Commercial Court.
The LCCCt operates exclusively electronically in terms of documents (as do all other Circuit Commercial Courts). In addition, the LCCCt is acutely aware of the challenges posed by in-person court appearances. To address this, akin to the Commercial Court, hearings listed as half a day or less in the LCCCt are held remotely by default, while the giving of evidence by remote means from witnesses, who would otherwise have to travel significant distances either domestically or internationally, is also actively supported and encouraged by the LCCCt. Embracing remoteness not only significantly reduces costs by eliminating travel and waiting time but also guarantees access to justice is unhindered particularly for foreign-based parties. For this reason, the LCCCt is receptive to the possibility of establishing remote observation-only links.
Oral applications of up to an hour in length can be listed almost immediately within the LCCCt, primarily due to the availability of the Urgent and Short Applications List, which is arranged between Mondays and Thursdays, freeing up Fridays for longer applications and most Case Management Conferences. The ability to list applications immediately is, of course, enormously useful for litigators. Lead times for trials are also usually better than the Commercial Court for the same trial duration, sometimes even up to six months earlier, especially for lengthier trials. Use of the Shorter Trial Scheme (see Practice Direction 57AB) is also actively encouraged by the LCCCt, especially for cargo claims and superyacht repair claims.
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Source: CJclaw
