International Commercial Courts Versus Arbitration in International Commercial Disputes: An Analysis Based on the Netherlands Commercial Court

Abstract

International commercial courts have become increasingly popular around the world, especially in the last five years. This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of these courts by comparing them to commercial arbitration. The first part of the article provides information on the resolution options for international commercial disputes. The second part investigates the characteristics that make arbitration the most preferred method in judicial settlements of international commercial disputes. A high degree of commonality exists among international commercial courts established in different states. Therefore, the legal regime of the Netherlands Commercial Court is used as a model in this article to give a general understanding of other international commercial courts. The third part of the article provides general information on international commercial courts and examines the legal regime of the Netherlands Commercial Court. Based on the model of the Netherlands Commercial Court, international commercial courts have advantages and disadvantages when compared to arbitration. In some respects, however, these two dispute resolution mechanisms do not differ substantially. Given the advantages and disadvantages, international commercial courts may weaken to a certain extent the dominant status of arbitration in the resolution of international commercial disputes. However, easy and widespread enforceability of awards is considered the most important reason arbitration is preferred in practice. Judgments of international commercial courts currently lack this feature, at least for the time being.