UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Gerard Moore, Patricia Ugalde Revilla, Antonin Sobek and Alanood Sinjab, Mayer Brown
Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It was renamed the Dubai International Arbitration Centre by Dubai Decree No 10 of 2004. Following the abo - lition of the DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Centre by Dubai Decree No 34 of 2021, DIAC was restructured, gained independence from Dubai Chambers, and absorbed the DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Centre and the Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre (EMAC). All DIFC-LCIA and EMAC cases have since been transferred to DIAC pursuant to Dubai Decree No 34 of 2021, whereby references to “DIFC-LCIA” are to be read as refer - ences to “DIAC” in arbitration agreements ( Narciso v Nash (ARB 009/2024), DIFC Court of First Instance (20 June 2024)). ArbitrateAD was launched in 2024, replacing the for - mer Abu Dhabi Commercial Conciliation and Arbitra - tion Centre (ADCCAC). DIAC handles a much larger caseload, although ArbitrateAD continues to gain prominence since its establishment (see 1.1 Preva- lence of Arbitration ). UAE-based disputes are also often administered by the ICC and LCIA. No new arbitral institutions have been established in the UAE in the last 12 months. 1.4 National Courts Judicial Tribunal for Resolving Jurisdictional Conflicts Between the DIFC Courts and the Dubai Courts A distinctive feature of the dispute resolution land - scape in the UAE is the Judicial Tribunal for Resolv - ing Jurisdictional Conflicts between the DIFC Courts and the Dubai Courts (JCT). Established by Decree No 19 of 2016, the JCT was created to address juris - dictional complexities arising from the coexistence of the onshore Dubai courts and the DIFC courts, each operating under separate legal frameworks. The JCT serves as the ultimate arbiter of jurisdictional disputes between these two judicial bodies, including conflicts concerning the enforcement of arbitral awards and supervisory jurisdiction over arbitration proceedings. Its decisions are final and binding on both court sys - tems. Onshore/Offshore Courts All onshore and offshore courts can hear disputes related to international and/or domestic arbitrations.
The courts play a supportive and supervisory role in international arbitration (see 4.3 Court Intervention and 6.2 Role of Courts ) and enforce both local and foreign arbitral awards (see 12. Enforcement of an Award ). The key enforcement provisions are set out at Articles 52 and 55 of the UAE Arbitration Law, Articles 42 to 44 of the DIFC Arbitration Law and Articles 55 and 56 of the ADGM Arbitration Regulations. In par - ticular, the following applies. • Onshore: the onshore courts have specialised circuits and judges trained to deal with arbitration- related matters. In Dubai, these matters are dealt with by the Court of Appeal. In Abu Dhabi, the competent court is the Abu Dhabi Court of First Instance (Commercial Division) and Abu Dhabi Court of Appeal, with further recourse to the respective Court of Cassation. They are civil law courts, operating in Arabic. • Offshore: the DIFC and ADGM courts have dedi - cated arbitration divisions. They are common law courts, operating in English. The UAE has a dual judicial system: onshore (civil law) and offshore (common law, differing by freezone – eg, DIFC or ADGM). However, all applicable arbitral legal frameworks are based on the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration of 1985, as amended in 2006 (the “UNCITRAL Model Law”), with some differences. The key differences between the UAE Arbitration Law and the UNCITRAL Model Law are as follows. Specific Authority (Article 4) The signatory of an arbitration agreement must have express authority (eg, typically through the articles of association or a power of attorney) to enter into arbi - tration on behalf of a company. This is a heightened threshold, consistent with the UAE’s regard for arbitra - tion as an exceptional method of resolving disputes, displacing the local courts of their primary jurisdiction. There is no such requirement in the UNCITRAL Model Law. 2. Governing Legislation 2.1 Governing Law
1045 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook