Dubai International Financial Centre Courts Attract Parties from 22 Countries for Commercial Dispute Resolution

The Courts registered 243 cases on the basis of the parties' opt-in to their jurisdiction, representing 30% of a total of 810 cases registered before their various divisions during the same period, of which 201 cases were before the Small Claims Tribunal and 42 cases before the Court of First Instance, the Arbitration Division and the Digital Economy Court.

The Court of First Instance registered 30 claims on the basis of the parties' opt-in to the Courts' jurisdiction, 47% of which involved at least one party from outside the United Arab Emirates. The parties were spread across 13 countries and territories, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, India, Germany, Switzerland, the United States and Australia, and in some instances all parties to the claim were from outside the State.

The Digital Economy Court registered one claim on the basis of the parties' opt-in to the Courts' jurisdiction, involving parties from the United Kingdom, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, El Salvador and Vietnam.

The international presence extended to the Arbitration Division, which registered 11 cases on the basis of the parties' opt-in to the Courts' jurisdiction, 8 of them connected to arbitration proceedings seated outside the State — close to three quarters of the cases — involving international centres in Singapore, Hong Kong, London, Paris and Stockholm.

His Excellency Justice Omar Al Muhairi, Director of the DIFC Courts, said that the figures for the first half of the year confirm that companies and individuals from within the United Arab Emirates and beyond are choosing the Centre's Courts to settle their disputes, including cases in which all parties are from outside the State. He noted that the independent and advanced commercial justice system and the digital services support confidence in the conduct of international trade and contribute to realising the ambitions of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 and to consolidating Dubai's position as a trusted destination for international investment, trade and business.

The Centre's Courts allow companies and individuals to agree in writing to their jurisdiction in civil and commercial disputes, whether they are inside or outside the United Arab Emirates and without any requirement of a connection to the State, while the parties retain the freedom to determine the law governing their contractual relations.

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)