Bricks and mortar

The focus of the London Solicitor’s Litigation Association publication, Resolve, for April was the campaign for modern accommodation for the commercial court. It quoted from the speech of its president, Tony Guise, at the Association’s annual dinner applauding the Lord Mayor’s support, saying: ‘London is a centre for dispute resolution of global importance. English judges and the common law are respected the world over for intellect and experience. However, without the tools (whether they be modern buildings or modern information technology) we shall shortly find London deserted for other centres such as New York or Paris, where the ICC is based.’ In his president’s column, Mr Guise gave details of a dinner hosted by the Association under Chatham House rules at which the leading players in the debate had a lively discussion leading to the formation of a working party and a further meeting. He continued: ‘The issues surrounding the financing of a new commercial court building, what that should house and where it should be built, are complex. Whether court fees should be increased and expanded to place the basis on which one pays for the courts, akin to that found in commercial arbitrations, was also considered, although initial views were that the issue was too broad for the working party to tackle in isolation.’ He also revealed that plans are in existence for a replacement for the Queen’s Building to be constructed with a build time of about 27 months and that the International Dispute Resolution Centre has its own plans for new accommodation for its business. It has been proposed that the IDRC should formulate a costed brief based on their plans and the plans of the Court Service for a resolution centre incorporating modern facilities for court-, arbitration- and mediation-based forms of dispute resolution. The idea is that part of that new building could be leased to the IDRC to provide a revenue stream to pay for the building.