The United Kingdom, the originator of the cherished Common Law legal tradition, has a proud reputation of judicial integrity. Recent changes to the global balance of power may limit the reach of the UK’s courts, but their reputation for incorruptibility remains undimmed.
In global rankings, the UK comes 15th out of 142 countries for overall rule of law, with judicial autonomy noted to be particularly strong according to the World Justice Project’s 2023 Rule of Law Index.
The UK ranks 20th globally in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which is very good. The ranking would be higher were it not for lost marks over public sector integrity. Judicial independence is again judged to be excellent.
In all, this well-earned reputation for incorruptibility maintains London as a global centre of justice. Claimants and defendants alike can expect transparency, consistency, and impartiality in equal measure. Disputes are adjudicated upon in a timely, expert manner.
The landmark judgment this July in JSC Commercial Bank PrivatBank v Kolomoisky and others is a testament to the system. PrivatBank’s former owners were alleged to have misappropriated nearly USD $2 billion of funds between 2013 and 2014. The bank was nationalised in 2016 to rescue it from insolvency.
The former owners were found guilty of fraud with the High Court ruling in the bank’s favour, holding the defendants’ liable for close to the full amount – one of the largest recoveries ever in such a case. Irregularities in their defence – not least a failure to attend the trial – fully supported the court’s decision.
The High Court’s supreme ability to scrutinise financial technicalities of a cross-border nature, covering Ukraine, Cyprus, and the British Virgin Islands, was noted widely in coverage of the ruling. Moreover, the case set a precedent for holding to account former bank owners for fraudulent actions. It was also a boost for the reputation of the Ukrainian banking sector, which will be vital to that country’s potential economic recovery.
As confirmed by international rankings, the UK’s Commercial Court has a similar reputation for technical excellence and discernment. Legal impropriety, by claimants or defendants, is treated seriously and is very much admissible to final judgments.
Legal commentators often point to Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber’s failed financial claim against two other Saudi sheikhs as evidence of this sound approach to impropriety.
Following the 2023 trial, with the judgment issued in November, the Commercial Court dismissed Al Jaber’s proceedings entirely. The judgment found Al Jaber guilty of lying under oath, forging evidence, and indeed inventing the initial claim.
A substantial cost order was imposed in November of that year. Al Jaber’s subsequent application for permission to appeal against the judgment was denied.
Indeed, since the Court’s initial dismissal, Al Jaber has refused to attend Court to be cross-examined on his assets and not providing the asset disclosure. His fulsome disregard of Court orders has arguably exemplified the limits of the UK system: it cannot force litigants to settle what they owe.
In 2025, Al Jaber, was found to be in contempt of court, received a ‘quasi-criminal’ order imposing a one-year prison sentence if he enters the UK. While he has sought permission to appeal from the Court of Appeal, by not returning to the UK, Al Jaber escapes immediate justice. However, he is otherwise condemned to a tattered business reputation.
The court of public and commercial opinion is, thankfully, a powerful deterrent to behaviour such as this. Meanwhile, the UK courts could bolster their jurisdiction by working with international partners on a range of enforcement mechanisms.
These include enhanced asset freezing and recovery mechanisms and faster and cheaper enforcement of UK judgments abroad.
In all, however, the UK’s ability to deliver justice at home – and propagate it abroad – is world class. This should be a point of national pride as one of the country’s most successful, if sometimes intangible, exports. The rules-based international order is shaky, but Britain will continue to play a steadying role in the decades to come.
