UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Mohammed Alsuwaidi, Ali Alraeesi, Rajiv Suri and Merline Dsouza, Alsuwaidi & Company
• by way of deputising an Abu Dhabi Judicial Depart - ment enforcement judge; or • by a direct application to the Abu Dhabi Judicial
Attachment of earnings Where the judgment debtor is an individual, the judg - ment creditor may make an application for an attach - ment of earnings. This provides for a court order instructing the judgment debtor’s employer to pay a specified amount out of the judgment debtor’s earn - ings to the judgment creditor. The debt must be in excess of USD100. An application is made in the same way as for a charg - ing order. Enforcement by taking delivery of goods The judgment creditor may apply to the court to take delivery of the judgment debtor’s goods in order to sell them and pay the judgment debt. If the court makes such an order, an enforcement officer (bailiff) will be instructed to serve a writ of execution upon the goods of the judgment debtor. The goods are usually sold by public auction, although an application can be made for sale other than by public auction. The judgment debtor may make an application to the court to stay the execution of the court order for such periods as the court considers reasonable. An application is made in the same way as for a charg - ing order. Insolvency proceedings – appointment of a receiver This is an unusual method of enforcing a judgment debt and should only be used as a last resort where it is not possible to use the other methods of enforce - ment. The difficulty will be that the fees of a receiver may outweigh the assets of the judgment debtor or that a significant proportion of the judgment debtor’s assets are covered by security from banks, etc, which may take precedence over the debts owed to the judgment creditor. Freezing order A judgment debtor may apply for a freezing order where it is likely that the judgment debtor will move assets out of the court’s jurisdiction. Good evidence of the risk of dissipation will be needed. The DIFC Courts can enforce judgments from onshore UAE courts. This is undertaken by an application
Department (Court) for enforcement. Both these methods would require:
• a copy and a translation of the judgment into Ara - bic, along with an executory letter from the ADGM Court; and • written evidence that the judgment has been served upon the judgment debtor. Enforcement Before Offshore Courts Enforcement of onshore judgments before DIFC Courts Charging order This is undertaken by obtaining a court order putting a charge over property (including land and securities) that is owned by the judgment debtor. This order pre - vents the judgment debtor from selling assets that are covered by the order without reference to the judg - ment creditor. It also allows the judgment creditor to seek an order from the court for the sale of those assets in order to pay the judgment debt. An application is made without notice to the court, and a judge handles the application without a hearing. Following this, a final judgment order can be applied for, where the judgment debtor will be able to dispute the charging order. Attachment of assets This follows the same procedure as a charging order but pertains to obtaining a third-party debt for pay - ment owed to the judgment debtor (a third-party debt order). This allows the judgment creditor to receive payment directly from the third party. An application is made, similarly to a charging order, except the order is final unless the third party makes an application for the order to be reconsidered as the sum to be paid to the judgment debtor is more than the sum that is owed to the judgment debtor, or they do not owe a debt to the judgment debtor.
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