KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's strategic location between the Straits of Melaka, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, and the South China Sea strengthens its role in resolving international commercial and maritime disputes, said Chief Justice Tun Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh.
He said Malaysia has long had a specialised Admiralty Court, and the establishment of the International Commercial and Admiralty Division (ICAD) has brought admiralty and international commercial cases under a single specialised division.
Established at the High Court here on March 2 this year, ICAD is expected to boost investor confidence in Kuala Lumpur as a regional hub for business and dispute resolution.
Wan Ahmad Farid said that delays of even a few days in urgent admiralty cases could have significant commercial consequences, particularly when disputes involved vessels, cargo and parties across several jurisdictions.
"Applications for the arrest or release of vessels, the provision of security and other urgent matters require prompt attention, and a delay of even a few days can have significant commercial consequences," he said in his keynote address at the inaugural ICAD Conference 2026 at the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) today.
Wan Ahmad Farid said maritime disputes were inherently international, often involving vessels registered in one country, owned by companies in another, financed by banks in a third and carrying cargo belonging to parties across several jurisdictions.
"A vessel may be registered in one country, owned by a company in another, financed by a bank in a third, chartered by an entity in a fourth, and carrying cargo belonging to parties in several more.
"Admiralty disputes are inherently international, involving vessel arrests, charterparty disputes, cargo claims, maritime security and arbitration.
"The trade that passes through generates disputes over cargo, charterparties, finance, insurance, energy and infrastructure,' he said.
He said geography alone is not enough as ICAD's role is to transform Malaysia's geographical advantage into a jurisdictional advantage by ensuring disputes could be resolved close to where the business is done, by judges who understand its commercial and maritime context.
He said a premier dispute resolution forum was built on trust, which could not be bought or established overnight but had to be earned over time.
"It is earned when foreign investors know that if they bring a dispute to Malaysia, they will receive justice that is blind to nationality, deeply sophisticated in commercial logic and fiercely independent.
"Roads and ports carry goods. Certainty and trust carry confidence, and confidence carries capital.
"Let us build this infrastructure deliberately, protect it carefully, and offer it to the world with integrity," he said.
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