Business and Property Courts to be launched in Birmingham

The new Business and Property Courts - combining the Chancery Division with the specialist courts of the Queen’s Bench Division, Technology and Construction, and Mercantile courts -.are to be launched in Birmingham.

Sir Brian Leveson, president of the QBD, and Sir Geoffrey Vos, chancellor of the High Court, said in a joint statement: “This innovation has been the result of the combined efforts of the HMCTS Birmingham, regional and High Court teams and the specialist judges and the circuit and district Bench, who have been working hard for a year on an implementation plan to convert the vision to a reality.

“We have also received invaluable support and service suggestions from the Midlands business community, from the Midlands Commercial and Chancery Bar Association, and from the Birmingham Law Society and senior commercial litigators.”

They said the new court would be formally opened by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, on 6 July.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service said earlier this year that specialist civil courts would be renamed Business and Property Courts of England and Wales.

They would “preserve the familiar practices and procedures” of the predecessor courts, but allow for more flexible deployment of judges with suitable expertise to sit on appropriate cases.

This new structure would enhance the UK’s reputation for international dispute resolution, the service said.

There will be Business and Property Courts in Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol and in Cardiff, with expansions to Newcastle and Liverpool expected.