Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon: King Hamad Lecture For Neutral Justice Ceremony: “The Bahrain International Commercial Court: A Beacon of Neutral Justice”

1. Good morning. It is my immense privilege to deliver the King Hamad Lecture on this historic occasion, which marks the launch of the Bahrain International Commercial Court (the “BICC”) and the Global Justice Bay. I am deeply grateful to Your Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa for the gracious invitation and truly honoured by the presence of such a distinguished gathering of senior leaders and judicial colleagues from across the region. Your Royal Highness's presence today and profoundly important address underscore the strong ties between the Kingdom of Bahrain and its international partners, and the commitment that all of us share to strengthening our institutions of justice and advancing the rule of law. 

2. It is especially fitting that we are gathered at the Isa Cultural Centre, a beacon of knowledge and science. With its distinctive blend of modern and traditional Bahraini architecture, the centre symbolises both the remarkable progress that Bahrain has achieved under the visionary leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, as well as the rich heritage that underpins this progress. 

3. This same visionary leadership is the bedrock upon which the BICC stands today. Like the Isa Cultural Centre, the BICC embodies the same ethos of progress rooted in tradition, for it builds on the history of the Kingdom as the “Pearl of the Gulf”,¹ a flourishing commercial metropolis, steeped in a rich mercantile tradition, and strategically placed to serve the needs of cross-border commerce. Developed in partnership with the Singapore International Commercial Court (or the “SICC”), the BICC is a groundbreaking institution that is invested in the commercial future of this vastly important and dynamic part of the world. This morning, I will outline the critical role of the BICC in shaping and advancing the key value that is “neutral justice”. 

I. The ideal of neutral justice

4. In recent decades, the world of commerce has undergone dramatic transformation, driven by a surge in the movement of goods, capital and people across borders. Contracts may be governed by laws that have no direct connection to the contracting parties, but that are chosen because they add predictability and certainty to their transactions. Commercial actors are also increasingly willing to travel in search of neutral and trusted dispute resolution mechanisms that can deliver fair processes and sensible outcomes. 

5. What these trends show is that commercial parties increasingly demand neutral justice that fairly serves their needs. I suggest that the pursuit of neutral justice entails three things:

9. The third reason is that international commercial courts do not work alone in advancing neutral justice. Unlike arbitral tribunals, which are constituted on an ad hoc basis for a time-limited period, international commercial courts are permanent bodies with the capacity and impetus to strengthen the system of transnational commercial justice by working together. This is critical, because for international commercial courts to serve the world, they must strive to meet the needs of commerce across diverse regions in a cohesive way. This will typically be a challenge for any single court; but not for a network of commercial courts distributed across dispute resolution hubs.

10. What would such a network look like? When I delivered a lecture in Bahrain two years ago, I proposed that such hubs would possess four key characteristics. First, a matrix of laws that support international commercial dispute resolution. Second, an independent judiciary with the expertise to apply and develop transnational commercial law in many of the cutting edge areas that His Royal Highness spoke about. Third, a strong corps of lawyers who are commercially savvy and competent. Finally, an overarching commitment to thought leadership that can steer the future of commercial justice.⁵

11. The new International Committee of the SICC, which can hear appeals from the BICC, promises to be a gamechanger in this regard. The International Committee comprises local and International Judges of the SICC and ad hoc judges from the BICC, and it builds on Singapore’s strong reputation for effective and sound international dispute resolution. The International Committee has been described as a groundbreaking development⁶  that we believe will not only meet the needs for a robust mechanism for error correction but more importantly will contribute to the coherent development of transnational commercial law.⁷ 

III. The contribution of the BICC to the advancement of neutral justice

12. What these points reveal is the immense potential of the BICC to transform commercial dispute resolution across the region and beyond, and to position Bahrain as a premier dispute resolution hub and a gateway to the Gulf. Let me propose three factors that will shape its potential.

13. The first is that while the BICC is a distinctly Bahraini institution, its design is unmistakably international in outlook and purposefully crafted to serve a wide range of transnational disputes. To appreciate this point, we need only look at the strength and diversity of its multinational bench. The court will be led by two towering figures in international dispute resolution, President Jan Paulsson and Deputy President Sir Christopher Greenwood KC; and its judges are, without exception, distinguished commercial jurists who hail from a range of common and civil law jurisdictions – including no fewer than four eminent Bahraini judges. The court also embraces the global nature of modern commerce in other ways, not least by its openness to representation by foreign counsel and to the application of foreign law, and its use of the English language in proceedings.

14. Second, the BICC model is not an untested experimental venture, but one grounded in the decade of experience that we in Singapore have gained with the SICC. Our partnership grew from our shared commitment to create a robust systemic framework for international commercial dispute resolution by establishing linked courts to serve key commercial regions like Asia, the Middle East and Africa. We feel honoured to have partnered with Bahrain in achieving this vision and sharing our experience and expertise on the effective adjudication of cross-border commercial disputes, in a collaboration that has been hands-on and all-encompassing.

15. Third, the BICC is backed by the resolute commitment of the Council for International Dispute Resolution of Bahrain to securing the transformation of Bahrain’s ecosystem. We see this in a drumbeat of recent initiatives. To give just a few examples, the Kingdom has acceded to the Singapore Convention on Mediation, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, built regional momentum behind the New York Convention with Saudi Arabia, and entered into a host country agreement with the Permanent Court of Arbitration (“PCA”) – the last of which makes Bahrain the first Arab and Middle Eastern country with a representative office of the PCA.⁸ Such strong governmental support and deep partnerships with domestic and international stakeholders are critical to the success of the BICC. And if I may say so, it recalls our own experience in Singapore, and how we managed to establish the SICC within a similar two-year period only because we adopted a concerted, whole-of-government effort.