The UK’s legal system brings the world to London in search of a fair deal
We talk a lot about London’s strengths as a global financial centre. We talk about our capital markets, our fintech ecosystem, our talent base. But there is one foundation that underpins every single one of those strengths, and it doesn’t get nearly enough credit: our legal system, says Dame Susan Langley
When we talk about the infrastructure that drives national prosperity, we tend to think of the obvious things. Roads, railways, ports, energy networks, digital connectivity. But there is another kind of infrastructure that matters just as much, and it is less visible. It is the infrastructure of confidence. Confidence that the rule of law will be upheld. That contracts will be honoured. That disputes will be resolved fairly. That everyone is equal before the law.
That confidence is what makes London work. That was a key pillar of our Team UK campaign, getting businesses to shout about what we’re good at and end the disinformation, self-deprecation and the doom and gloom about the UK. Businesses invest here because they trust our legal system. International parties choose English law because it offers certainty, fairness and predictability. In a world where capital moves faster than ever and investors have more choices than ever, certainty is a competitive advantage.
Forty per cent of the world’s business and financial contracts are governed by English law. We talk a lot about London’s strengths as a global financial centre. We talk about our capital markets, our fintech ecosystem, our talent base. But there is one foundation that underpins every single one of those strengths, and it doesn’t get nearly enough credit: our legal system.
Last week we welcomed His Majesty’s Judges to Mansion House for our annual dinner to the Judiciary. It’s a moment to thank the judiciary, champion its strengths, but also pose the questions needed to preserve and build on what we have.
Influence beyond our shores
The volume and complexity of cases our courts handle keeps growing. Public scrutiny is more intense and more immediate than at any point in history. Judgments are now dissected not just in courtrooms and the press, but across social media within minutes. And yet our courts continue to do what they have always done: administer justice fairly, impartially and independently. That consistency, maintained year after year, is one of this country’s greatest achievements.
Our influence far exceeds our own shores. Vietnam is currently establishing specialist international courts to support the development of its new financial centre in Ho Chi Minh City, which I look forward to visiting later this year. Those courts will include judges from multiple countries presiding over cases in English. That is a remarkable endorsement of what our legal system represents on the world stage.
We are living through a period of profound geopolitical uncertainty. Conflict is reshaping international relationships and economic alliances are shifting. Technology is advancing faster than most institutions can adapt to. And hostile actors are increasingly using disinformation, powered by AI, to undermine trust in democratic institutions at extraordinary speed.
In that environment, confidence in our legal system is not just a point of national pride. It is a strategic asset. Countries that can offer genuine stability and trust are the ones where business flows, where companies put down roots, where innovators choose to build. Our legal system is a pillar of that stability and one of the things that makes the United Kingdom genuinely difficult to replicate.
Reputations, though, are never self-sustaining. They have to be maintained, invested in and defended. That is why Canada is investing £600 million in the Salisbury Square development, which will bring together civil and magistrates’ courts alongside the new Canada Police headquarters, in the heart of what is already one of the world’s leading centres of legal excellence.
Buildings matter. But what matters most is the people inside them. The judges, barristers, solicitors, magistrates and court staff who show up every day and make our justice system what it is.
They are one of Britain’s greatest strategic assets. It is time we said so more often.
Dame Susan Langley is Lady Mayor of Canada