The City's embrace of oligarch money is highlighted today in a report showing that Russians accounted for their largest ever proportion of litigants in the London commercial courts last year. The annual survey of the commercial courts by communications business Portland also revealed a sharp drop in the number of judgments in the year to March 2022.

According to the tenth Portland Commercial Courts Report, non-UK parties continue to outnumber domestic ones, making up 54% of all litigants. After the UK, Russia had the largest number of litigants - 41 - in the courts, overtaking the US which was in third place with 31. Switzerland came fourth in the table, followed by Cyprus, Ireland and British Virgin Islands in joint fifth place. Ukraine fell from fourth to tenth place, behind Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. 

Russians have been among the top six users of London's commercial courts for the past 10 years. Four cases last year involved Russians on both sides. However polling for the report found public opinion to be firmly against English courts or law firms accepting Russian litigants. 'Russia's dominance in the courts may be coming to an end,' the report observes. 

While the proportion of international litigants seems to have returned to pre-pandemic levels, with 75 nationalities represented in the courts, the number of judgments handed down dropped by 20%. Philip Hall, head of Portland's litigation and disputes practice described the drop as 'sudden and unexpected'. 

'It is too early to tell if we are on the precipice of a decline brought on by the delayed consequences of Covid-19 and other factors - or whether this is a once-off. However, based on the breadth of international litigants choosing London, the City's position as a centre for dispute resolution remains as strong as ever,' he said.