UAE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Ibrahim Al Qassim, Mohammed Ibrahim Al Qassim and Abdulla Ibrahim Al Qassim, Ibrahim Al Qassim & Partners
Ibrahim Al Qassim & Partners The Tower Plaza Office 1603 Sheikh Zayed Road Dubai UAE Tel: +971 4 222 4441
Email: info@ialqassim.com Web: www.ialqassim.com
Recent Developments in the Enforcement of Judgments in the UAE The key issue for practitioners at the start of 2026 was not whether the UAE enforcement framework had changed, but how those changes would operate in practice. Federal Decree-Law No (22) of 2025 amend - ed certain provisions of Federal Decree-Law No (42) of 2022 Promulgating the Civil Procedure Code, which governs civil litigation and enforcement proceedings. Dubai Law No (2) of 2025 Concerning the Dubai Inter - national Financial Centre Courts amended the frame - work governing the relationship between the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts and the UAE onshore courts. Federal Decree-Law No (25) of 2025 Promulgating the Civil Transactions Law, effec - tive 1 June 2026, replaced the 1985 Civil Transactions Law. Following the significant procedural reforms intro - duced in 2022, these developments represent a fur - ther stage in the evolution of the UAE’s enforcement framework. The reforms reflect a continued focus on efficiency, finality, and co-ordination between the UAE onshore courts and the DIFC Courts. This submission considers the practical implications of these changes for creditors and businesses operating in or consider - ing entering the UAE market. The 2025 Civil Procedure Amendments Federal Decree-Law No (22) of 2025 amending certain provisions of the Civil Procedure Code promulgated by Federal Decree-Law No (42) of 2022 entered into force on 1 January 2026. Although narrower in scope than the 2022 reforms, these amendments are sig -
nificant from an enforcement perspective, as they impact the judicial process leading to the issuance
and enforcement of judgments. Stricter appellate requirements
An appellant must now specify, at the time of filing, the judgment under challenge, its date, the precise grounds of appeal, and the relief sought. The appel - lant may no longer supplement or refine the appeal at the first hearing, and an underprepared appeal risks dismissal before it reaches the merits. Debtors have long treated the filing of an appeal as a means of delaying execution while assets are reorgan - ised or transferred. That position has now changed, as illustrated by a series of parallel commercial debt claims exceeding a combined AED550 million against a single counterparty, where sustained procedural challenges, including allegations of forgery requiring forensic analysis, were ultimately unsuccessful in full through to the Court of Cassation. For creditors, this may affect settlement dynamics at an earlier stage of the dispute, as debtors may have limited ability to rely solely on procedural delay after a judgment has been obtained. Reduced scope of cassation review Execution-related decisions are now excluded from cassation review. In other cases, access to cassa - tion remains subject to prescribed claim value thresh - olds and the requirement that the appeal raise issues involving inconsistency with established judicial prin - ciples. Together with stricter appellate requirements, these reforms significantly narrow the procedural ave -
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