UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Mohammed Alsuwaidi, Ali Alraeesi, Rajiv Suri and Merline Dsouza, Alsuwaidi & Company
4.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Arbitral Awards In terms of enforcement, the UAE laws distinguish between domestic arbitral awards seated in the UAE and foreign arbitral awards seated outside of the UAE. While the confirmation and enforcement of domestic arbitral awards are governed by Articles 55–57 of the UAE Arbitration Law, the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards are governed by the provi - sions of the New York Convention, which prevail over the provisions of domestic UAE laws. 4.3 Categories of Arbitral Awards Not Enforced Onshore Courts Please see 4.6 Challenging Enforcement of Arbi- tral Awards regarding domestic arbitral awards that may be nullified pursuant to the UAE Arbitration Law and are thereby not capable of being enforced, and regarding foreign arbitral awards seated outside of the UAE not being subject to any nullification procedures. In the UAE, although most arbitral awards that are either confirmed (for domestic arbitral awards) or rec - ognised (for foreign arbitral awards) and thereafter enforced are money judgments, certain non-money awards may also be either confirmed or recognised but not enforced in certain cases. The arbitral award creditor in a domestic arbitral award may choose to apply only for its confirmation or for its confirmation and enforcement. Similarly, the arbitral award creditor in a foreign arbitral award may choose to apply only for its recognition or for its recognition and enforcement. Please see 4.4 Process of Enforcing Arbitral Awards regarding the two-tier process to recognise or confirm and enforce an arbitral award, and regarding the dif - ference between the confirmation or recognition of an award from one side and the enforcement thereof from another. Therefore, the confirmation or recognition of an award refers to the doctrine of res judicata and serves as a shield to ensure that an action may not be disputed once its merit has been decided on by the arbitrator, as happened in the arbitration case Omnium de Traite-
• In the case of a judgment given in an action, the subject matter of which was immovable property, or in an action in rem, the subject matter of which was movable property, said property must have been situated in the country of that court when the action was commenced. • The jurisdiction of the original court is recognised by any applicable Abu Dhabi law or any ADGM enactment. 4. Arbitral Awards 4.1 Legal Issues Concerning Enforcement of Arbitral Awards Before Onshore Courts The enforcement of domestic arbitral awards is regu - lated by the UAE Federal Arbitration Law No 6 of 2018 (“the UAE Arbitration Law”), as amended by Federal Law No 15 of 2023 (the “Amended Arbitration Law”). The enforcement of foreign arbitral awards is regu - lated by the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1958 (the “New York Convention”), which the UAE ratified without any reservation, meaning that even arbitral awards issued in a non-contracting state may be rec - ognised and enforced in the UAE under the New York Convention. Besides the New York Convention, the UAE also signed the 1966 Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes Between States and Nation - als of Other States (the “ICSID Convention”) on 23 December 1981, which entered into force on 22 Janu - ary 1982. Before Offshore Courts The Conventions referred to above apply to awards being enforced in the UAE, including in the DIFC and the ADGM. For the enforcement of onshore awards in the finan - cial free zones (and vice versa), the procedures out - lined in 2.2 Enforcement of Domestic Judgments for the enforcement of judgments are equally applicable to the enforcement outside of the DIFC in Dubai of arbitral awards granted in the DIFC and governed by Article 7 of the Judicial Authority Law (and vice versa).
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