ABGESAGT: International Commercial Courts in an Anti-Globalist Age – The SICC and Its New Rules in the Post-Pandemic Era (VaM Spezial)

The talk will pick up from the conclusions of a forthcoming book Transnational Commercial Disputes in an Age of Anti-Globalism and Pandemic (Menon and Reyes eds).  The book argues that international commercial dispute resolution must become more (1) accessible, (2) proportionate, and (3) sensitive to environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns, if it is effectively to respond to the anti-globalist critique and the worldwide economic difficulties wrought by COVID-19. Given those premises, to what extent (if at all) can international commercial courts such as the SICC address the pressing need identified? If one focusses on the SICC, its new procedural rules came into operation on 1 April 2022. They have been described as “a game-changer”. But in what way are the new rules different from the previous ones and how can they facilitate the resolution of international commercial disputes in the post-pandemic era that now collectively faces us?