UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Law and Practice Contributed by: Stuart Paterson, Janine Mallis and Tania Forichon, Herbert Smith Freehills
2.4 Procedural Orders Onshore – Criminal See 1.7 Prevention of Defendants Dissipating or Secreting Assets . DIFC and ADGM Under Article 25.8 of the DIFC Rules and Rule 64 of the ADGM Rules, an application for interim relief may be made on an ex parte basis or by giving notice. The permission of the DIFC and ADGM courts is required when the application is to be made without service of an application notice to the respondent. Permission will only be granted where there is exceptional urgency or good reasons for making the application with - out notice – for example because notice would or might defeat the object of the application. For the DIFC courts, permission for a without- notice application will also be granted in cases where the overriding objective is best furthered by doing so. For all applications made without notice, the applicant and those representing them must fully disclose all matters relevant to the application, including, in particular, any possible defences that may be available to the respondent to the application. 2.5 Criminal Redress Pursuing criminal proceedings in fraud cases is common in the UAE since the criminal courts have wide powers, such as preventing a sus - pected wrongdoer from travelling abroad pend - ing the conclusion of an investigation. A victim of a crime may request that a compen - sation claim be annexed to the criminal charges and considered by the criminal court, which would be determined when criminal liability has been established.
Onshore – Civil Where there is a parallel civil claim by the victim, the criminal court will generally transfer the civil claim to the civil court for investigation in accord - ance with Article 27 of the Criminal Procedures Law. The civil court will assess the quantum of damages, as the fact of the conviction allows the civil court to assume the liability of the defend - ant, and therefore, the only remaining issue left for the civil court to determine is ordinarily the quantum of damages. The civil claim will, there - fore, generally be stayed pending the conclusion of the criminal proceedings. 2.6 Judgment Without Trial Onshore UAE The UAE courts may pass a default judgment if the defendant has been duly served and fails to attend without providing an acceptable excuse. DIFC and ADGM Similar rules apply in the DIFC and ADGM courts, wherein a claimant may apply for default judg - ment if the defendant fails to acknowledge the claim or acknowledges the claim but fails to file a defence in time. A defendant will then have the option to either seek to set aside or vary the court’s ruling. How - ever, they will not be able to appeal the judg - ment. The DIFC and ADGM courts may give summary judgment (known as “immediate judgment” in the DIFC courts) against the claimant or defend - ant on the whole of a claim, part of a claim or on a particular issue if it considers that the claim - ant has no real prospect of succeeding on the claim or issue or if the defendant has no real prospect of defending the claim or issue. There is no other compelling reason why the case or issue should be disposed of at trial. Summary
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