Scott Ciment, a Senior Rule of Law Expert from ROLC delivered a presentation on the impact of specialized courts at the ASEAN Judicial Colloquium held from June 4-6.  The 3-day gathering brought together judges from across the ASEAN region to discuss developments in intellectual property law and enforcement issues. ROLC Senior Rule of Law Expert Scott Ciment served on a panel to discuss judicial integrity and independence and used this opportunity to discuss the benefits and risks of establishing too many specialized courts in countries whose regular courts are already struggling with huge caseloads and underfunded mandates. 

Mr. Ciment explained how devoting resources to an Intellectual Property court could also contribute to public perception that the courts exist primarily to serve business interests and the elite and that specialized courts should serve as innovation incubators to explore techniques that can benefit the whole judiciary. Mr. Ciment also described an even greater concern of establishing specialized courts for niche commercial litigation, such as intellectual property law: “the Intellectual Property law community is fairly insular, so the judges will likely see the same set of lawyers and experts over and over; this familiarity risks judicial independence. “ 

The event was hosted by The Association of South-East Asian States in collaboration with the United States Patent and Trade Office and the United States Judicial Conference Committee on International Relations. Mr. Ciment’s panel was moderated by the Honorable David Campbell, Senior Judge, United States District Court for the District of Arizona.