UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Mohammed Alsuwaidi, Ali Alraeesi, Rajiv Suri and Merline Dsouza, Alsuwaidi & Company
Enforcement in Dubai outside of DIFC of judgments, decisions or orders issued by DIFC Courts As per Article 7 (2) of Dubai Law No 12 of 2004 as amended by Dubai Law No 16 of 2011 (the “Judi - cial Authority Law”), any DIFC Court judgment, deci - sion, order or ratified arbitral award can be enforced through the Dubai Courts if the following three condi - tions are met: • they are final and executory; • they are legally translated into Arabic; and • they are certified by the DIFC Courts for execution and have the following formula of execution affixed by the Courts: “Authorities must take the initiative to enforce this document and assist in implement - ing it even forcefully whenever requested to do so.” In addition, the creditor must request an execution letter called a “Judicial Deputation to Enforcement” from the DIFC Courts, which issue said execution let - ter addressed to the Chief Justice of the Court of First Instance of Dubai Courts stating the procedure to be carried out. The creditor shall then apply to the execu - tion judge of Dubai Courts, accompanied by a copy of the judgment, decision, order or ratified arbitral award, a legal translation thereof, and the execution letter. The execution judge shall apply the procedure and rules stipulated in the CPL, including any objections to the execution. Enforcement in emirates other than Dubai of judgments, decisions or orders issued by DIFC Courts DIFC Court judgments, decisions and orders can be enforced by the local courts of any emirate within the UAE, in accordance with the procedure and rules adopted by such courts, and in accordance with any agreements or memoranda of understanding between DIFC Courts and these onshore courts. Said enforce - ment and/or execution is subject to conditions iden - tical to those under the enforcement and execution before Dubai Courts. Enforcement of ADGM judgments within onshore jurisdictions Enforcement of ADGM judgments outside of the ADGM jurisdiction can be done in one of two ways:
they may approach the execution judge to request the debtor’s imprisonment for a period not exceed - ing one month, renewable for additional periods. That being said, the decision of the General Assembly of the Court of Cassation in Dubai (Decision No 4/2023) and the General Assembly of the Dubai Court of Cas - sation (Decision No 9 of 2024) regarding the rules of debtor detention stipulates that a debtor cannot be imprisoned unless the creditor submits proof that the debtor has the means to pay, or that the debtor is involved in transferring or concealing assets, or that they own assets that may be seized and liquidated to fulfil the debt. Travel ban Pursuant to Article 324 of the CPL, if the debt is equal to or more than AED10,000 (excluding debts related to established alimony in support of the debtor’s family, work remuneration or omission of an act) and there are reasonable grounds to believe that the judgment debtor may leave the UAE, the creditor may request the execution judge to issue an order for a travel ban prohibiting the debtor from travelling. In the case of an unliquidated debt, apart from the requirement that the claim for the right of entitlement shall be based on written evidence, the execution judge may require the creditor to provide a guarantee to the court to cover losses or damages the debtor may suffer as a result of being prohibited from travel - ling if the application for a travel ban is later found to be wrongful or unjustified. Grievance from an order of the execution judge regarding the travel ban order can be submitted or appealed within seven working days from the day fol - lowing the date of its issuance before the President of the Court of First Instance or whomever he or she authorises other than the judge who issued the deci - sion. The decision issued in the grievance is final. The decision of the execution judge may be appealable within ten working days from the date of its issuance if it was in person, and from the date of its notification or knowledge if it was issued in absentia.
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