CONCORD - Gov. John Lynch today signed legislation creating a specialized business court docket in the New Hampshire superior court.

“This legislation marks a significant reform to our court system. It is very important that our judicial system is equipped to handle efficiently the complexity of business statutes and conflicts, and this legislation will help them do just that,” Gov. Lynch said.

The new business court will be similar to other specialized courts in New Hampshire, such as the family court, where a superior court judge will handle the docket of all business and commercial disputes, allowing business disputes to be resolved quicker and adding efficiency to the judicial system.

“Businesses move at a different speed and they need this docket to make justice more accessible to them and accommodate the speed at which they move today. And this new business docket fits in with our goal of making the judicial process more affordable and understandable,” New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice John T. Broderick Jr. said. “This has been a collective effort and the beneficiaries are the businesses and the people of New Hampshire.”

“Gov. Lynch and his administration and the legislature have consistently demonstrated a commitment to the needs of the New Hampshire economy and the business community. Passage of this bill will allow us to respond quickly to the needs of the business community for remedy and resolution,” said Sen. Peter Burling, the bill’s prime sponsor.

Senate Bill 378 was sponsored by Sens. Burling, Joe Foster, Maggie Hassan, Deb Reynolds, Jackie Cilley and Martha Fuller Clark.