In pursuit of substantial justice: navigating between flexibility and certainty in international commercial law

Abstract

The competing approaches of legal certainty and legal flexibility have since formed a significant debate in international commercial law. This article, in the main, argues from a common law perspective using thematic analyses in the following respects: the quest for justice, the possibility of developing a common legal culture in light of some commercial uncertainties and the real status of legal certainty in the European Union with respect to the Brussels Regulation. It concludes that there is a need to develop a framework which guarantees substantial regularity without compromising the need to ensure that substantial justice always prevails.