COMMERCIAL COURTS KEY TO UNLOCKING IMPROVED INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION By BARRY LEON Former Commercial Court Judge Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
C
ross-border cooperation between commercial courts has become a growing trend over the last few years, enabling commercial court judges from around the world to lead the way in increasing international mutual understanding and facilitating better communication, cooperation and efficiency. The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and its commercial division, the BVI Commercial Court, have played a prominent role in this progress. It is important for our financial services industry – as well as the wider jurisdiction – that we maintain this position going forward to give the BVI the credibility it deserves as a leading commercial disputes jurisdiction.
18
BUSINESS INSIGHT | BVI Means Business
COOPERATION IS VITAL IN THE 21st CENTURY With many businesses today operating in multiple countries courts cannot function as they did in the 1800’s when businesses were largely based in one jurisdiction. In an age when corporate communications take place via iPhone and business enterprises are global at their core, it is unfeasible for judges to work blindly or in silos. What’s more, in many instances judges are able to develop methods of cross-border communication between courts more effectively than other international bodies, in the process building relationships, understanding, respect and trust that facilitate the effective functioning of processes developed far more cohesively than if they were strangers. In the future we may see such developments come to include areas such as asset preservation and recovery in situations such as fraud, corporate and shareholder disputes in multiple jurisdictions and international arbitral award challenges, recognition and enforcement.
MULTILATERAL AGREEMENTS BRING TOGETHER COMMERCIAL COURTS A great example of this bilateral cooperation came earlier this year, when commercial courts of almost 40 jurisdictions across five continents came together to produce the landmark “Multilateral Memorandum on the Enforcement of Commercial Judgments
