The pandemic commencing in late 2019 posed a great challenge to the globalizing world and transnational commercial disputes. In this book, subject experts from the Asia-Pacific region have enriched the discussions and innovatively treated the subject. The introduction is by the Chief Justice of Singapore, Sundaresh Menon, who perceives that globalization is “on the rocks” but argues for the need for better adaptation to the new challenges in order to maintain the legitimacy of both old and new institutions.

Part I, “What is an International Commercial Dispute?”, by Pak Hei Li, a Hong Kong barrister, James Allsop, Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia, and Samuel Walpole, an Australian barrister, is a brief overview of international commercial disputes resolution mechanisms. Part II, “The Swinging Pendulum: International Commercial Arbitration and the Rise of Specialist Commercial Courts”, by Jianping Shi from the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law and Bernard Eder from the Singapore International Commercial Court, examines the rise of specialist commercial courts in different jurisdictions. Part III, “David and Goliath: Investor-State Dispute Settlement”, by Jianjian Ye, a New York lawyer, and Anselmo Reyes from the Singapore International Commercial Court, investigate the challenges for the investor-state dispute settlement system and the way forward. Part IV, “The Perfect as the Enemy of the Good – The Importance of Finality and Certainty”, by Wilson Lui from the University of Hong Kong; Nallini Pathmanathan, Justice of the Federal Court of Malaysia; and Joanne Tan Xin Yin, Senior Assistant Registrar of the same Court, argue for the need of finality and certainty in the field of international commercial dispute resolution mechanisms in the light of the Hague Conventions of 2005 and 2019. Part V, “The Lex Mercatoria and the Convergence of International Commercial Law”, by Jason Lin, a London trainee solicitor, and Tiong Min Yeo from the Singapore Management University, examine the concept of lex mercatoria and how it can be developed further. Finally, Part VI, “The Impact of Covid-19”, by Cedric Yeung, a Hong Kong barrister, Douglas Jones from the Singapore International Commercial Court, and Jonathan Mance from the Astana International Financial Centre Court examine how the pandemic changed the landscape of international commercial dispute resolution and paved the way for the future. The conclusion is written by Pamela Bookman from New York City's Fordham University and Alyssa King from Canada's Queen's University echoing the views of Justice Sundaresh Menon, that the “biggest disputes in transnational commerce would inevitably touch upon issues of global importance that go beyond the direct interests of the contracting parties – like working conditions, security concerns, taxation, inequality, and climate change (p. 340)”.

This book, with new ideas for exigent times, is a rich contribution to the existing scholarship of international commercial dispute resolution.