UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Gerard Moore, Patricia Ugalde Revilla, Antonin Sobek and Alanood Sinjab, Mayer Brown
of the DIAC 2022 Rules; Article 50 of the Arbi - trateAD 2024 Rules). Regarding interest, the position differs as well. • Onshore and offshore (DIFC only): the UAE Arbitra - tion Law and the DIFC Arbitration Law are silent on interest, leaving it to the parties’ agreement or the applicable substantive law. • Offshore (ADGM): Section 52 of the ADGM Arbitra - tion Regulations expressly allows simple or com - pound interest, pre- and post-award. Any award of interest remains subject to UAE public policy. 11. Review of an Award 11.1 Grounds for Appeal There is no appeal on the merits under any UAE framework. Parties may seek correction, interpretation or an addi - tional award (Articles 49 to 51 of the UAE Arbitration Law; Article 40 of the DIFC Arbitration Law; Section 57 of the ADGM Arbitration Regulations). The parties can also apply to set aside (annul) the award on limited, defined grounds, as follows. Onshore The Article 53 grounds include: • the absence, invalidity or lapse of the arbitration agreement; • a party’s incapacity or lack of the special authority required to arbitrate; • a breach of due process; • the tribunal’s failure to apply the chosen law; • improper constitution of the tribunal; • the proceedings being vitiated in a way affecting the award, or the award being made out of time; and • the award exceeding the scope of the arbitration (severable). These grounds also apply to interim or partial awards. The court will also annul of its own motion where the
subject matter is not arbitrable or the award conflicts with UAE public policy. Offshore Article 41 of the DIFC Arbitration Law and Section 58 of the ADGM Arbitration Regulations adopt grounds substantially similar to the UNCITRAL Model Law. Unlike the onshore regime, the offshore laws do not include failure to apply the chosen substantive law or issuance of the award out of time as separate grounds for setting aside. The DIFC Arbitration Law additionally mandates setting aside where the dispute is expressly referred to a different body or tribunal. Appeal Procedure The procedure for appealing an arbitral award depends on the regime. • Onshore: the annulment action is brought before the competent Court of Appeal within 30 days of notification, with the decision final subject only to cassation. Filing does not automatically stay enforcement, though the court may stay on serious grounds (Articles 54 and 56 of the UAE Arbitration Law). • Offshore: an application to set aside is the exclu - sive recourse and must be made within three months of receipt of the award to the DIFC court (Article 41 of the DIFC Arbitration Law) or to the ADGM court (Section 58 of the ADGM Arbitration Regulations), as applicable. 11.2 Excluding/Expanding the Scope of Appeal Under both the onshore and offshore regimes, the set- aside grounds are exhaustive. Parties cannot agree to expand the grounds for setting aside beyond those provided by the applicable law. In relation to waiver, the position differs between the different regimes. • Onshore: Article 54 (5) of the UAE Arbitration Law expressly provides that a waiver of the right to bring an annulment action made before the award is issued does not prevent a party from subse - quently bringing such an action. • DIFC: the DIFC Arbitration Law is silent on whether parties can waive the right to set aside an award. Unlike the UAE Arbitration Law, there is no express
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