The Commercial Court is a sub-division of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice

High Court of Justice

The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...

, the major civil court in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is based in the Royal Courts of Justice

Royal Courts of Justice

The Royal Courts of Justice, commonly called the Law Courts, is the building in London which houses the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and the High Court of Justice of England and Wales...

.

The High Court is split into three divisions. The Family Division

Family division

Family division can refer to:* Family Division of the High Court of Justice* divorce* annulment* division of property* alimony* parental responsibility * dysfunctional familyFor an overview, please see family and family law....

 deals with divorce, children and medical treatment. The Chancery Division deals with land, mortgages, trusts, estates, probate, bankruptcy, intellectual property and company matters. The Queen's Bench Division deals with a wide range of contract law and personal injury/general negligence cases, but also has special responsibility as a supervisory court of lesser courts, tribunals and governmental authority. The Commercial Court is a specialist subsection of the Queen’s Bench Division.

The business of the Commercial Court is defined by the Civil Procedure Rules as:

"any claim arising out of the transactions of trade and commerce and includes any claim relating to -

(a) a business document or contract

Contract

A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...

;

(b) the export or import of goods;

(c) the carriage of goods by land, sea, air or pipeline;

(d) the exploitation of oil and gas reserves or other natural resources;

(e) insurance and re-insurance;

(f) banking and financial services;

(g) the operation of markets and exchanges;

(h) the purchase and sale of commodities;

(i) the construction of ships;

(j) business agency; and

(k) arbitration

Arbitration

Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution , is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, where the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons , by whose decision they agree to be bound...

."