UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Mohammed Alsuwaidi, Ali Alraeesi, Rajiv Suri and Merline Dsouza, Alsuwaidi & Company
Before Offshore Courts (DIFC and ADGM Courts) For enforcement, ADGM Courts charge up to USD3,000 for court matters and USD3,000 for the enforcement of arbitration awards. Both courts permit charging orders on property as a form of security for a judgment debt. In addition, an unpaid judgment debt represents a strong claim in insolvency proceedings. However, care must be taken here to avoid proceeding against a judgment debtor who may have other preferred creditors. The most efficient way to determine a defendant’s assets is to request that the execution judge, against nominal court fees, issue directives to any natural or legal persons designated by the petitioner or creditor to disclose any such information pertaining to their assets. This may include public and regulatory author - ities, such as: • the Real Estate Regulatory Agency; • the Land Department; • the Central Bank of UAE; • different company registries; • the Roads and Transport Authority; • the Securities and Commodities Authority; • customs; • insurance companies; and • the financial markets in the UAE. Offshore Courts Under Part 50 of the RDC, the DIFC Court may order a judgment debtor to attend court to provide informa - tion so that a judgment creditor may enforce a judg - ment against them. The judgment creditor makes an application without notice to the court, which will issue an order for the judgment debtor to attend court so that they can be questioned under oath. Under Part 30 of the Court Procedure Rules, the ADGM Court has a similar process to the DIFC Court for a judgment debtor to attend court to provide infor - mation. 2.4 Post-Judgment Procedures for Determining Defendants’ Assets Onshore Courts
usual methods of enforcement (as noted previously in this section) can be used. Enforcement of onshore judgments – ADGM Courts The ADGM Courts have entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Abu Dhabi Judicial Depart - ment on the mutual and reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments, decisions, orders and rati - fied arbitral awards. The process is similar to the DIFC Courts. Post submission of application to the ADGM Courts by the Creditor, a judgment will be enforced according to the relevant procedures. DIFC Judgments issued by the DIFC Courts are to be enforced pursuant to the Rules of the DIFC Courts (RDC), as stipulated in Article 42 thereof. Parts 36 and 45 of the RDC are the relevant rules governing such enforcement. ADGM Part 29 of the ADGM Court Procedure Rules sets out the rules to be complied with in filing an enforcement application. Apart from complying with the ADGM Court Procedure Rules, an applicant must also observe the rules together with any relevant practice direction to which a judgment pertains. 2.3 Costs and Time Taken to Enforce The timeframe for enforcing a domestic judgment var - ies widely, from two months to two years, depending on factors such as the availability, nature and valua - tion of the debtor’s assets, third-party involvement, and the auction process. For example, bank account attachments may be completed in a week, while asset-heavy enforcements such as ship auctions may take several months. Domestic Judgments Before Onshore Courts Costs typically include court filing fees, publication fees (if public notification is required), expert evalua - tions, translations and administrative charges. These can range from approximately AED1,000 to AED5,000, depending on the complexity of the enforcement, the asset class involved, and the number of steps required.
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