UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Mohammed Alsuwaidi, Ali Alraeesi, Rajiv Suri and Merline Dsouza, Alsuwaidi & Company
2.5 Challenging Enforcement of Domestic Judgments Before Onshore Courts The debtor has two channels available to challenge any enforcement procedure and to seek a stay pend - ing the outcomes of a challenge. Challenging enforcement before the Court of First Instance The debtor may challenge enforcement by filing a grievance within seven days from the day following the date of the issuance of any decision of the execu - tion judge before the President of the Court of First Instance or their authorised representative on the fol - lowing grounds: • order of priority among the prevailing parties; • postponement of the execution of the decision for any reason; • granting the debtor a time limit to pay the amount for which settlement of the execution has been ordered, or allowing them to pay it in instalments; • acceptance or rejection of the guarantee; • a travel ban or refusal to order a travel ban; or • an arrest warrant or refusal to order an arrest war- rant. The decision issued in the grievance shall be final and may not be subject to appeal. Challenging enforcement before the Court of Appeal The debtor may challenge enforcement by filing an appeal within ten days from the day following the date of the issuance of any decision of the execution judge before the Court of Appeal on the following grounds: • the competence or lack of competence of the execution judge to enforce the writ of execution; • the assets seized are such that they may or may not be seized or sold; • the participation of parties other than litigants in the enforcement procedures; • the decision to imprison the debtor, provided that the appellant presents a sponsor responsible for bringing the judgment debtor or paying the amount adjudged – if they are unable or fail to bring them before court, the court shall impose upon them to
pay the amount of the guarantee, and will collect that amount in the manner under which the judg - ments are executed; or • the decision issued determining the amount for execution, and whether or not to continue its implementation. The decision of the Court of Appeal might be appealed in cassation in certain circumstances. Before Offshore Courts As common-law courts, both the DIFC and ADGM Courts will allow appeals to be brought by the unsuc - cessful party in relation to the judgment itself. The process of enforcement allows a party to challenge the enforcement within those proceedings, and the judgment may be set aside if it was wrongly entered or was not within the court’s jurisdiction. 2.6 Unenforceable Domestic Judgments Onshore Courts Domestic judgments must be enforced within 15 years of the date that the judgment became enforceable or of the date of the last executory transaction – ie, the last act performed in relation to execution. All judgments that have the exequatur form affixed by the court can be enforced, except those that have been stayed by the execution judge or stayed and/or overruled by the Court of Cassation, and those that do not impose an obligation on the parties, such as some non-money judgments or some declaratory judgments confirming the proper termination of a con - tract. These kinds of judgments can be relied upon but cannot be enforced. 2.7 Register of Domestic Judgments Onshore Courts There is no central register of all judgments in the UAE onshore courts. Lawsuit files are accessible exclu - sively to the parties to the proceedings and can be accessed through the electronic court system using the parties’ credentials. Offshore Courts DIFC Courts The basic case details of all public cases filed with the DIFC Courts are recorded in the courts’ e-registry,
484 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook