Kamran Balayev is an international legal and policy expert, business leader, and former London mayoral candidate.
London’s most profitable export is not a product. It is a place.
Each year, international businesses deliberately choose English law, London courts, and London-seated arbitration to resolve disputes that can run into the hundreds of millions, sometimes billions. This is forum shopping at its most sophisticated: parties comparing legal systems as if they were infrastructure, and paying a premium for the one they trust most. For the UK, that premium is both a source of revenue and a form of quiet national influence.
The scale of this choice is striking. The Commercial Court reports that around 75 per cent of its work is international, a proportion that has remained broadly stable. But “international” understates what is happening in practice. An independent review of 262 judgments delivered by the London Commercial Courts between April 2023 and March 2024 found that 68 per cent of litigants were non-UK parties, drawn from 84 different countries; the most internationally diverse year on record.
A national court serving litigants from 84 countries is not merely domestic. It is global legal infrastructure. That global pull rests on something unusually old, and unusually modern in function.
England’s courts have institutional continuity stretching back almost 900 years, to the royal courts that emerged in the late 12th century. English common law began to crystallise in the same period, developing incrementally through judicial reasoning rather than comprehensive codes. Over time, that method produced what commercial parties value most: predictability without rigidity, adaptability without arbitrariness, and judgments that explain not just what the law is, but why.
As Lord Mansfield famously observed in the 18th century: “The law of England is the law of merchants.” That insight remains true. English law became the governing law of choice for cross-border contracts even when neither party was British – and London became the natural venue for resolving disputes arising from them.
This is reflected in the work London attracts. The Commercial Court generally handles claims valued at £8 million and above, while the London Circuit Commercial Court typically deals with disputes in the £1-8 million range. Arbitration amplifies the effect. London remains the world’s leading arbitration seat: the 2025 Queen Mary / White & Case survey ranks it first globally, with 34 per cent preference, ahead of Singapore and Hong Kong. The LCIA alone registered 362 referrals in 2024, 95 per cent international, involving parties from over 100 jurisdictions.
One heavyweight arbitration can generate extraordinary economic activity. Specialist counsel, arbitrators, expert witnesses, disclosure providers, translators, hearing venues and weeks of accommodation quickly add up. Even where the dispute value runs into the hundreds of millions, the process itself can generate many millions of pounds in legal and professional services. Across hundreds of cases, the aggregate impact is substantial – one reason legal services contribute well over £35bn annually to UK gross value added and run a persistent trade surplus.
So why worry?
Because this is no longer a monopoly. It is a contest.
Other jurisdictions have grasped that dispute resolution is not merely a public service; it is an export industry and a source of influence. Dubai (DIFC), Abu Dhabi (ADGM), Singapore, Paris and New York have all invested heavily in specialist courts and arbitration centres. None replicates London’s history or depth. But they do not need to. They are competing at the margins where decisions are now made: speed, user experience, digital process, enforcement pathways and procedural efficiency.
And London is giving them an opening.
Concerns have been raised publicly that the median time to judgment in the Commercial Court approached 786 days in 2024. Comparisons with faster forums are not always like-for-like, but the signal is clear. Courts such as Singapore’s commercial courts explicitly market speed and active case management, with suitable cases capable of reaching trial within months, as part of a strategy to attract international disputes.
If English law remains admired while English dispute resolution becomes slow or cumbersome, sophisticated users will quietly re-price their loyalty. The risk is not collapse, but gradual diversion: fewer marginal cases, fewer hearings seated in London, fewer instructions, and reduced spillover into the wider economy.
Talent mobility reinforces the point. The Law Society reports that around 11,000 UK-qualified solicitors now practise overseas, particularly in the Gulf and Asia. This exports English law – a strength – but it also indicates where growth is perceived to lie. Judicial authority, too, has become portable. Retired senior UK judges increasingly sit in overseas commercial courts and arbitration centres, especially in the Gulf. Some of this strengthens the common-law brand; some of it strengthens London’s competitors.
London therefore faces a choice: treat its legal dominance as heritage – or treat it as strategy. If the aim is to protect and grow this export, the agenda is practical.
First, speed and user-friendliness must become explicit competitiveness targets. Delay is not a constitutional abstraction; it is a commercial deterrent. Judicial capacity for heavy commercial work must be protected and modern case management pursued relentlessly.
Second, the UK must promote its legal system with the same seriousness it promotes finance or trade. Competitors do this systematically. London has relied too heavily on reputation alone. Under the current government, there has been no sustained international strategy to champion English law as an economic asset, no visible ministerial ownership of the issue, and little sense of urgency despite intensifying global competition.
Third, London must remain the preferred venue for hearings, not merely the legal seat. Visas, facilities, digital infrastructure and logistics all matter. Where hearings take place determines where value is captured.
Finally, the integrity of common law must be preserved. Judicial independence, reasoned decision-making and predictability are non-negotiable. Any perception of politicisation or erosion of standards would do lasting damage.
This is not pessimism. The fact that London’s courts served litigants from 84 countries in a single year is evidence of extraordinary strength. But it is also a reminder: the world uses London because it chooses to.
Safeguarding that choice requires seriousness, confidence and stewardship – qualities traditionally associated with a Conservative Party understanding of institutions: valuing inheritance, while accepting responsibility for its renewal. London remains a global capital of justice. Whether it remains the global capital will depend on whether Britain once again treats the rule of law not just as a constitutional principle, but as a strategic national asset worth defending.
Kamran Balayev is an international legal and policy expert, business leader, and former London mayoral candidate.
London’s most profitable export is not a product. It is a place.
Each year, international businesses deliberately choose English law, London courts, and London-seated arbitration to resolve disputes that can run into the hundreds of millions, sometimes billions. This is forum shopping at its most sophisticated: parties comparing legal systems as if they were infrastructure, and paying a premium for the one they trust most. For the UK, that premium is both a source of revenue and a form of quiet national influence.
The scale of this choice is striking. The Commercial Court reports that around 75 per cent of its work is international, a proportion that has remained broadly stable. But “international” understates what is happening in practice. An independent review of 262 judgments delivered by the London Commercial Courts between April 2023 and March 2024 found that 68 per cent of litigants were non-UK parties, drawn from 84 different countries; the most internationally diverse year on record.
A national court serving litigants from 84 countries is not merely domestic. It is global legal infrastructure. That global pull rests on something unusually old, and unusually modern in function.
England’s courts have institutional continuity stretching back almost 900 years, to the royal courts that emerged in the late 12th century. English common law began to crystallise in the same period, developing incrementally through judicial reasoning rather than comprehensive codes. Over time, that method produced what commercial parties value most: predictability without rigidity, adaptability without arbitrariness, and judgments that explain not just what the law is, but why.
As Lord Mansfield famously observed in the 18th century: “The law of England is the law of merchants.” That insight remains true. English law became the governing law of choice for cross-border contracts even when neither party was British – and London became the natural venue for resolving disputes arising from them.
This is reflected in the work London attracts. The Commercial Court generally handles claims valued at £8 million and above, while the London Circuit Commercial Court typically deals with disputes in the £1-8 million range. Arbitration amplifies the effect. London remains the world’s leading arbitration seat: the 2025 Queen Mary / White & Case survey ranks it first globally, with 34 per cent preference, ahead of Singapore and Hong Kong. The LCIA alone registered 362 referrals in 2024, 95 per cent international, involving parties from over 100 jurisdictions.
One heavyweight arbitration can generate extraordinary economic activity. Specialist counsel, arbitrators, expert witnesses, disclosure providers, translators, hearing venues and weeks of accommodation quickly add up. Even where the dispute value runs into the hundreds of millions, the process itself can generate many millions of pounds in legal and professional services. Across hundreds of cases, the aggregate impact is substantial – one reason legal services contribute well over £35bn annually to UK gross value added and run a persistent trade surplus.
So why worry?
Because this is no longer a monopoly. It is a contest.
Other jurisdictions have grasped that dispute resolution is not merely a public service; it is an export industry and a source of influence. Dubai (DIFC), Abu Dhabi (ADGM), Singapore, Paris and New York have all invested heavily in specialist courts and arbitration centres. None replicates London’s history or depth. But they do not need to. They are competing at the margins where decisions are now made: speed, user experience, digital process, enforcement pathways and procedural efficiency.
And London is giving them an opening.
Concerns have been raised publicly that the median time to judgment in the Commercial Court approached 786 days in 2024. Comparisons with faster forums are not always like-for-like, but the signal is clear. Courts such as Singapore’s commercial courts explicitly market speed and active case management, with suitable cases capable of reaching trial within months, as part of a strategy to attract international disputes.
If English law remains admired while English dispute resolution becomes slow or cumbersome, sophisticated users will quietly re-price their loyalty. The risk is not collapse, but gradual diversion: fewer marginal cases, fewer hearings seated in London, fewer instructions, and reduced spillover into the wider economy.
Talent mobility reinforces the point. The Law Society reports that around 11,000 UK-qualified solicitors now practise overseas, particularly in the Gulf and Asia. This exports English law – a strength – but it also indicates where growth is perceived to lie. Judicial authority, too, has become portable. Retired senior UK judges increasingly sit in overseas commercial courts and arbitration centres, especially in the Gulf. Some of this strengthens the common-law brand; some of it strengthens London’s competitors.
London therefore faces a choice: treat its legal dominance as heritage – or treat it as strategy. If the aim is to protect and grow this export, the agenda is practical.
First, speed and user-friendliness must become explicit competitiveness targets. Delay is not a constitutional abstraction; it is a commercial deterrent. Judicial capacity for heavy commercial work must be protected and modern case management pursued relentlessly.
Second, the UK must promote its legal system with the same seriousness it promotes finance or trade. Competitors do this systematically. London has relied too heavily on reputation alone. Under the current government, there has been no sustained international strategy to champion English law as an economic asset, no visible ministerial ownership of the issue, and little sense of urgency despite intensifying global competition.
Third, London must remain the preferred venue for hearings, not merely the legal seat. Visas, facilities, digital infrastructure and logistics all matter. Where hearings take place determines where value is captured.
Finally, the integrity of common law must be preserved. Judicial independence, reasoned decision-making and predictability are non-negotiable. Any perception of politicisation or erosion of standards would do lasting damage.
This is not pessimism. The fact that London’s courts served litigants from 84 countries in a single year is evidence of extraordinary strength. But it is also a reminder: the world uses London because it chooses to.
Safeguarding that choice requires seriousness, confidence and stewardship – qualities traditionally associated with a Conservative Party understanding of institutions: valuing inheritance, while accepting responsibility for its renewal. London remains a global capital of justice. Whether it remains the global capital will depend on whether Britain once again treats the rule of law not just as a constitutional principle, but as a strategic national asset worth defending.