Birmingham will be the site of the first formal debut of the newly formed Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, HM Judiciary announced today. The lord chief justice, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, will open the Business and Property Courts on 7 July.

The courts, comprising the Chancery Division and the specialist courts of the Queen’s Bench Division will introduce ”flexible listing and modern procedures” the announcement said. They will be housed in the existing Civil and Family Justice Centre.

The new structure for civil courts, announced last month, will allow specialist judges to be deployed across a greater range of cases. Business and Property Courts will also sit in London, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol and Cardiff, with expansions to Newcastle and Liverpool likely in the future.

Today’s announcement said the Business and Property Courts in Birmingham will aim to meet three objectives : ensuring that each case is managed to deliver progress to trial without delay; trial by the most appropriate judge (whether a member of the resident specialist judiciary or a High Court judge), and the provision of an 'efficient and effective service using modern technology to best advantage'.

'We look forward to a new era for specialist civil litigation serving the Midlands region,' Thomas said.