United Arab Emirates

Mena Legal united arab eMirates

186 Getting the Deal Through – dispute resolution 2006

united arab emiratesChristian Ule and K Florian Buchler

Mena Legal

Litigation

1 Court system

What is the structure of the civil court system?

The United Arab Emirates is essentially a civil law jurisdiction heavily influenced by the Egyptian legal system, which has its sources in French and Roman law. The law in the UAE has also been influenced by Islamic law codified in the Shari’a, which is embodied in the UAE civil and commercial law. Like the codifica-tions of other civil law countries, the UAE codes express general abstract concepts and rules drawn from Roman law.

The UAE Law of Civil Transactions (No. 5 of 1985) as amended by Federal Law No. 1 of 1987 governs civil transac-tions. In broad terms, the civil law sets out general contractual principles and covers certain specific types of business agreements (for example, construction contracts).

The UAE Federal Commercial Transactions Law (No. 18 of 1993), on the other hand, governs commercial transactions and relationships between merchants.

In civil matters of procedure, the UAE courts follow the Fed-eral Law of Civil procedure (No. 11 of 1992), which sets out details for conducting civil cases before the UAE courts, whether local or federal.

Although there is a federal court structure in the UAE with a final court of appeal in Abu Dhabi (the Abu Dhabi Supreme Court), both Emirates Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah are not part of the federal judicial system. Unlike the other emirates, Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah have their own court systems, which are not subject to the Federal Supreme Court.

There are three main branches within the court structure: civil, criminal and Shari’a (or Islamic) law. The Federal UAE courts, similar to the courts in most of the countries in the Area, are organised to form two main divisions, civil and criminal, and are also generally divided into three stages of litigation, namely Courts of First Instance, Court of Appeal and the Federal Supreme Court (colloquially referred to as the Court of Cassation). The jurisdiction of the third division, namely the Shari’a courts, which initially was to review matters of personal status, was expanded in certain Emirates such as Abu Dhabi to include serious crimi-nal cases, labour and other commercial matters. Important cases with a security aspect are referred to special courts.

The court structure in Dubai is comprised of the following courts: the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation. The Court of First Instance includes the Civil Court, the Criminal Court and the Shari’a Court.

The Civil Court (or Court of First Instance) hears all claims ranging from commercial matters (including debt recovery cases) to maritime disputes. After judgment has been delivered, the par-

ties have the right to appeal to the Civil Court of Appeal on factual and/or legal grounds within 30 days of the date of judg-ment. Thereafter, parties may appeal on points of law alone to the Court of Cassation, which is usually composed of five judges. The appeal must be filed within 30 days of the date the parties were notified of the judgment of the Court of Appeal. All deci-sions of the Court of Cassation are final.

2 Judges and juries

What is the role of the judge and, where applicable, the jury in civil

proceedings?

There are no juries in the UAE. Cases are heard in the Court of First Instance by a single judge (for claims less than 100,000 UAE Dirhams) or a three-judge panel (claims exceeding 100,000 UAE Dirhams).

The key rule in the UAE Civil Code is that contracts must be interpreted by the judge according to the intentions of the parties; and intentions and meanings must prevail over words and the construction of sentences. Consequently, where there is an express provision in the contract, a judge must not imply any clause or condition varying that express provision. And where the wording of a contract is quite clear on a particular point, the court must not distort such obvious meaning on the pretext of discovering the parties’ intentions. However, when there is ambiguity – or when the judge thinks that certain passages in the contract (however well written) do not in fact match the clear intention of the parties – then the court must investigate the true common meaning of the parties, irrespective of the literal mean-ing of the words used in the contract. This investigation must be carried out: a) in the light of the particular transaction; and b) according to (1) the principles of honesty and trust between the contracting parties and (2) existing customs.

The UAE Civil Code lays down two other key interpretation rules: (1) a custom that is applicable among merchants has the same force as an express agreement; and (2) (broadly speaking) a debtor should be given the benefit of the doubt.

The writings of Al-Sanhoury (a seminal jurisconsult writing about the Egyptian code shortly after the Second World War) are particularly significant when deciding how to apply such con-cepts and rules in individual cases.

Common law principles, such as adopting previous court judgments as legal precedents, are generally not recognised although judgments delivered by higher courts are usually applied by lower courts.


187Getting the Deal Through – dispute resolution 2006

3 Limitation issues

What are the time limits for bringing civil claims?

Under UAE civil law, statutes of limitation are deemed to be a procedural issue, and not a substantive law issue. The standard time limits for bringing civil claims is fifteen years. Claims in connection with the obligations of traders towards each other concerning their commercial activities shall not be heard, if they are denied and if there is no lawful justification upon the lapse of ten years from the date on which the performance of the obliga-tion falls due, unless the law stipulates a shorter period. Shorter limitation periods apply with regard to certain types of claims (eg claims in connection with services provided by doctors, pharma-cists, engineers, advocates, experts and teachers, in matters con-cerning rent, checks or defect warranty, and claims of employees against their employer).

In the event of negotiations between the parties, with regard to the claim the limitation may be suspended. Since limitation is an issue which need not be respected by the judge ex officio, but only upon the motion of one party, the parties may agree to suspend time limits. Limitation is also suspended by filing an action.

4 Pre-action behaviour

Are there any pre-action considerations the parties should take into account?

With the exception of Dubai and Ras Al-Khaimah, the plaintiff must first refer to the Reconciliation Committee before initiating action before the Federal Courts of First Instance appointed by the Federal Ministry of Justice. The purpose of this pre-action procedure is to encourage the parties to an amicable settlement of civil and commercial disputes of whatever value. The Reconcili-ation Committee does not have authority in labour claims, rent claims, family matters or financial disputes, summary or provi-sional orders and claims.

The plaintiff may, on the other hand, apply for a letter of no-objection from the relevant Reconciliation Committee in case he does not wish to resolve their dispute amicably.

In any case, the Court of First Instance may not hear a plain-tiff, unless he has filed for a letter of no-objection or the matter has been before the relevant Reconciliation Committee.

5 Starting proceedings

How are civil proceedings commenced?

Cases proceed on the basis of written pleadings in Arabic accom-panied by supporting documents, translated into Arabic if in another language, submitted by a licensed advocate with a writ-ten request to the judge to serve the judgment to the defendant. Together with the written pleading the advocate representing the plaintiff must file a power of attorney in his favour with the court clerk. Once the plaintiff has paid the court fees, the court clerk opens a file and schedules a hearing date. The plaintiff or the advocate is informed about the hearing date. Within 10 days from filing the written request, the court clerk orders the service of the summons on the defendant through the court bailiff.

6 Timetable

What is the typical procedure and timetable for a civil claim?

The typical procedure after effected service of the claim to the defendant is that in terms of the Civil Procedure Law the defend-ant needs to file his defence at least three days before the first hearing date. The defendant may admit the allegations made against him or deny them and set out for his defence. In the lat-

ter the plaintiff will require time to respond to the submissions which is why the case is likely to go back and forth between the plaintiff and the defendant. In practice documents and hearings are exchanged only at hearings. Hearings are open to the public and held in Arabic. Once the parties have exchanged pleadings and submissions and the procedure relating to the suit have been concluded, the court will reserve the case for judgment and sched-ule a last hearing date for the delivery of the judgment.

The average length of time of civil proceedings before the Court of First Instance when the claim is contested ranges from six to 12 months. Given that most cases are subject to two appeals a final judgment will normally not be made earlier than two years after the initial filing of the claim.

7 Case management

Can the parties control the procedure and the timetable?

The procedure and timetable is fixed by the Civil Procedure Law. However, the parties may influence the timetable in some ways with the consent of the court: the defendant may request an adjournment to respond to the claim during the first hearing, and the court usually grants such adjournments. Also the plaintiff may request an adjournment to enable him to comment on the defence. It is likely that the case will be adjourned several times with the result that a case has three or four hearings in the first instance. The plaintiff may also apply to the court to suspend the hearing of the case up to six months.

8 Evidence

What is the extent of pre-trial exchange of evidence? Is there a duty to

preserve documents and other evidence pending trial? How is evidence

presented at trial?

There is no pre-trial exchange of evidence. All arguments and supporting documents together with Ara-

bic translations are submitted to court in writing. Hearing wit-nesses in court is not a normal procedure in the UAE. Only on the request of a party or if the court considers it appropriate may witnesses be called and heard before court or may a hearing date be scheduled to hear the arguments from a party before the court makes its final decision. Witnesses are more likely to be heard if the case is referred to other forms of evidence, eg an investiga-tor or expert. Cases involving technical elements (eg banking, accounting, construction, insurance) may be referred to a court expert for an opinion on an argument raised by the parties.

9 Interim remedies

What interim remedies are available?

Interim remedies, such as obtaining a precautionary (preliminary) attachment order before the filing of a claim is available in the UAE. Attachment applications are also available after a claim has been filed before the same court which is hearing the matter. Following an application made to the judge with the support-ing documents the court normally grants an attachment order ex-parte.

The plaintiff should file civil proceedings within eight days of the date the attachment order was served to the opponent requesting the court to uphold the attachment order. Otherwise, the attachment order will automatically lapse. There is, on the other hand, no limit to filing an objection by the opponent to an attachment order.

According to the Law on Civil Procedure some assets are not subject to attachment.



Although the UAE Civil Procedure Law and recent judg-ments indicate that there are attachment orders against assets located in the UAE in support of foreign proceedings, there has been – to date – no precedent to confirm this view.

10 Remedies

What substantive remedies are available?

UAE law allows compensatory damages. However, there is no concept of punitive damages.

The primary remedy for breach of contract is specific per-formance. Compensatory damages are allowed when specific performance is unavailable or inappropriate.

A person who commits a tortious act is responsible to com-pensate the injured party by paying for damages for the loss caused, whether for personal injury or damage to property. UAE law distinguishes between direct and consequential loss (eg loss of profit). Also possible is to claim for moral damages, for violat-ing a person’s freedom, dignity, reputation and financial status.

If the amount claimed was quantified at the time the claim was filed, then the court will grant to the plaintiff in the money judgment interest as from the time of filing the claim until final payment. Otherwise, in other instances, such as a claim for dam-age and compensation, the court is likely to grant interest from the date the judgment becomes final. If the debt is confirmed by a commercial contract, the court may even grant interest on the debt from the time the claimed amount became due until final payment.

Normally, courts grant 9 per cent interest.

11 Enforcement

What means of enforcement are available? What sanctions are available in

the event a court order is disobeyed?

In general, once a judgment has become final, the judgment debtor will be summoned and given 15 days to comply with the judgment; otherwise he will face sanctions from the court. In case of non-compliance or non-payment, the Execution Court will execute the judgment upon motion of the judgment plaintiff. The Execution Court may issue an order to attach any assets of the judgment debtor in order to secure payment. The court may attach the bank account, the vehicle, office furniture, credits with third parties and even the debtor’s passport.

After the attachment has been delivered and enforced, the Execution Court can give the order to sell the attached assets by public auction should the judgment debtor still not pay. Third parties (including banks) will be requested to transfer any amounts in favour of the judgment creditor to satisfy the judg-ment.

12 Inter partes costs

Does the court have power to order costs?

The court in the UAE will order either of the parties, or both on a pro-rata basis, to bear the costs of the proceedings. As a general rule the party that loses the case bears the costs plus expenses, which include the court fees, the expert’s fees and a very nominal lawyer fee.

The level of court fees differs from Emirate to Emirate. Court fees in Dubai are quite high, for example. The court clerk assesses the court fees and requests the plaintiff’s attorney to pay the court fees.

Normally, the court will make an order regarding the pay-ment of the court fees upon delivery of the judgment. Once the

court fees have been paid to court, it is not possible to obtain a refund, even in the event that the action is withdrawn or the parties have settled their dispute.

13 Fee arrangements

Are ‘no win, no fee’ agreements or other types of contingency fee

arrangements available to parties?

Lawyer fees for litigation are rarely charged on a time-spent basis. Contingency fees on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis is illegal in the UAE.

Generally, there is no provision for orders for significant law-yers’ fees to be made against the losing party in legal proceedings in Dubai. Each party must be prepared to bear its own fees as they are not recoverable. Lawyer fees are normally negotiated between clients and lawyers on a case-by-case basis.

Normally lawyers charge their clients a lump sum (percent-age of the claim in suit) for civil suits excluding court fees and disbursements.

14 Appeal

On what grounds and in what circumstances can the parties appeal? Is there

a right of further appeal?

Appeals against final judgments of the Court of First Instance in civil and commercial matters, summary proceedings, precaution-ary attachment applications or urgent applications can be filed to the Court of Appeal. Appeals can be filed on points of law or on facts.

Either party may appeal further to the Court of Cassation. In that case, however, only appeals on a point of law are admis-sible.

15 Foreign judgments

What procedures exist for recognition and enforcement of foreign

judgments?

Generally foreign judgments will not be automatically enforced in the UAE. This is because the procedure for the enforcement of foreign judgments is restrictive and heavily qualified. However; judgments arising from courts in GCC countries and India can be enforced more readily under the Agreement on the Enforce-ment of Court Judgments delegations and Judicial Notices in the GCC States 1996, respectively the Reciprocal Agreement between the UAE and India ratified in 2000. Subject to certain conditions stated in the Bilateral Treaty of the Enforcement of Judgments with France of 1992, judgments delivered by French courts are enforceable in the UAE and vice versa. The UAE has also entered into certain cooperative arrangements with other countries including Jordan, Morocco, Syria, Somalia, Algeria and Egypt.

Judgments and orders passed in a foreign country may be ordered for implementation and execution within the UAE under the same conditions provided for in the law of the foreign state for the execution of judgments and orders passed in the state (Article 235 Civil Code).

A petition for execution order shall be filed before the Court of First Instance under which jurisdiction execution is sought under lawsuit standard procedures. Execution may not be ordered unless the following was verified:• state courts have no jurisdiction over the dispute on which

the judgment or order was passed and that the issuing for-eign courts have such jurisdiction in accordance with the International Judicial Jurisdiction Rules decided in its appli-



cable laws;• judgment or order was passed by the competent court accord-

ing to the law of the country in which it was passed;• adversaries in the lawsuit on which the foreign judgment was

passed were summoned and duly represented;• judgment or order has obtained the absolute degree in

accordance with the law of the issuing court; and• it does not conflict or contradict with a judgment or order

previously passed by another court in the state and does not include any violation of moral code or public order.

The foreign judgment must be translated into Arabic.The foreign judgment which is to be enforced in the UAE

must be notarised, legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the country of origin and authenticated by the UAE embassy in that country.

16 Foreign proceedings

Are there any procedures for obtaining oral or documentary evidence for use

in civil proceedings in other jurisdictions?

Foreign judgments can be used as evidence in local proceedings.

arbitration

17 UNCITRAL Model Law

Is the arbitration law based on the UNCITRAL Model Law?

The arbitration law of the United Arab Emirates is not based on the UNCITRAL Model Law.

A federal arbitration law was enacted in 1992 as part of the UAE Civil Procedure Code, Federal Law No. (11) of 1992 – Chapter (III) ‘Arbitration’ – Articles 203-218 (an English trans-lation is available at http://www.diac.ae). Its system and rules follow the concept and principles of the old (pre-1994) Egyptian arbitration law which was derived from the Shari’a and old (19th century) French law. The law applies to both domestic and inter-national arbitration and provides some basic procedural prin-ciples and rules, and the courts still retain a certain supervisory jurisdiction over the arbitral procedure and the award.

The UAE are a federal state, and the federal law supersedes the laws of each Emirate. However, each Emirate is a sovereign federal state with its own courts and legal system. Therefore, it is possible that the law in any given Emirate imposes requirements that apply in addition to the federal laws. In particular, the Emir-ates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah have arbitration laws that existed prior to the adoption of the federal arbitration law and that are still in effect.

The UAE has two major arbitration institutions: the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (www.diac.ae) and the Abu Dhabi Commercial Conciliation and Arbitration Centre (http://www.adcci.gov.ae:90/public/adccac/). The Dubai Centre is a par-ticularly modern and well organised arbitration institution, and its Executive Committee and Board of Trustees are comprised of very experienced and internationally respected arbitration prac-titioners. Accordingly, the Dubai Centre has adopted a set of well drafted arbitration rules that are similar to the ICC Rules and that address some gaps and possible pitfalls occurring under the Civil Procedure Code. These rules are published in the Official Gazette and, therefore, have force of law.

Furthermore, since 1982 the UAE has been a member of the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (ICSID Convention). There-fore, disputes arising out of contracts between a foreign investor

and the government of the UAE or any of its subsidiary depart-ments are governed by the ICSID Convention, provided that the foreign investor is a national of another member state to the Convention.

18 Arbitration Agreements

What are the formal requirements for an enforceable arbitration agreement?

The arbitration agreement must be in writing and it may be drafted in any language.

Furthermore, the parties must specify the substance and nature of the dispute in writing once it has arisen and prior to any material part of the hearings - eg by means of a pre-hearing conference or by adopting a rule such as Article 18 ICC Rules (Terms of Reference) which pursues the goal of clearly identify-ing the subject matters of the dispute prior to the beginning of the proceedings.

Moreover, an arbitration clause that qualifies as a standard contract term will be void.

Finally, attention must be paid in the case that one party files suit in the courts under contempt of an existing and valid arbitra-tion agreement. In this case, the other party must challenge the jurisdiction of the court in the first hearing; otherwise the court may declare itself to be competent to hear the case and declare the arbitration clause null and void!

19 Choice of arbitrator

If the arbitration agreement and any relevant rules are silent, how many

arbitrators will be appointed and how will they be appointed? Are there

restrictions on the right to challenge the appointment of an arbitrator?

If the agreement or the applicable rules are silent with respect to the appointment of arbitrators, or in the case that an arbitrator refuses to act as such, is dismissed, has his or her appointment revoked, or is otherwise prevented from acting, the courts have jurisdiction to appoint the arbitrators. The law is silent on the question of how many arbitrators will be appointed (most likely one or three); however, the number of multiple arbitrators must be odd.

An appointment of arbitrators by judgement of the court is final and binding, and may not be challenged.

20 Procedure

Does the domestic law contain substantive requirements for the procedure

to be followed?

The law is very liberal with regard to procedural requirements, thus leaving considerable freedom to the parties in adopting the procedure. Therefore, party autonomy and the principles of due process of law are the guiding procedural rules.

Unless otherwise provided for by the parties, the following non-compulsory procedural rules apply: (i) the arbitrator shall schedule the date and venue of the first hearing, as well as the deadlines for the submission of documents, memoranda and pleadings, within 30 days after his appointment; (ii) in case that one party defaults to submit certain documents, a decision may be rendered on the basis of the documents submitted by the other party; (iii) in the case there is more than one arbitrator, the arbi-trators shall conduct the hearings jointly, and the minutes must be signed by all arbitrators.

Witnesses must give evidence under oath in the same manner that is used in Court proceedings.



21 Court intervention

On what grounds can the court intervene during an arbitration?

As stated above, the parties are relatively free to determine the procedure and, therefore, the courts may only intervene during a pending arbitration in the following exceptions: (i) to determine the validity of the arbitration clause or agreement in order for the arbitral tribunal to have jurisdiction, and (ii) to assist with the appointment of the arbitrators.

Furthermore, the court may suspend the proceedings in the following cases, if these powers are not conferred to the arbitra-tors by party agreement or the applicable institutional rules: (i) in order to determine a preliminary issue; (ii) to decide whether documents have been forged; (iii) if a criminal law suit has been filed by one party against the other; (iv) in order to fine a witness that refraines from appearing or responding; (v) to order third parties to produce documents which are necessary for rendering the award; and (vi) to order letters rogatory. However, should these powers have been conferred to the arbitrator, he or she may request the assistance of the courts to enforce these decisions. In case that the respective arbitration is carried out abroad under different rules, it is unlikely that the UAE Courts will carry such procedures out on request of an arbitrator.

22 Interim relief

Do arbitrators have powers to grant interim or conservatory relief?

The arbitration law is silent on this question and there has been no precedent where arbitrators have granted a party an order for urgent or interlocutory applications, or an attachment against assets. However, if the parties have not agreed to vest these pow-ers exclusively in the arbitrators, an ongoing arbitration would not prevent the courts from hearing urgent applications for appointment of custodians, liquidators or for ordering an attach-ment against the assets locally in the UAE.

23 Award

When and in what form must the award be delivered?

In the absence of party agreement or institutional provisions, the award shall be rendered within six months from the date of the first hearing; otherwise the parties can refer the dispute to the courts.

The award must be in writing, state the reasons and contain a final decision by majority vote ( including any dissenting vote). In detail, the award must contain and be accompanied by the following: (i) a copy of the arbitration clause or agreement; (ii) a summary of the parties’ submissions, contentions and docu-ments; (iii) the date and place of its making; (iv) the signature of all, or a majority of arbitrators; and (v) an official translation of the award and all documents, if they are not in Arabic.

24 Appeal

On what grounds can an award be appealed to the court?

If the award has been approved by the local courts, the parties can challenge the award only on the grounds set forth in Articles 215 and 216 of the Civil Procedure Code.

Under Article 215 the award can be challenged for material errors.

Under Article 216 the award can be challenged:• if it was issued without, or based upon an expired or other-

wise pathological arbitration clause; • if the arbitrator exceeds the powers conferred to him or her

directly by the parties or indirectly by adoption of institu-tional rules;

• if the arbitrators were irregularly appointed or were not authorised to deliver the award in the absence of another arbitrator;

• if the subject matter of the dispute was not defined (see also question 18);

• if the arbitrator lacked capacity by being a minor, bankrupt, legally incapacitated, deprived of his or her civil rights due to a criminal offence unless he or she has been rehabilitated, or otherwise does not fulfil the requirements set forth by the parties; and

• if there is a material procedural defect.

The right to court review of the award based on the grounds set forth in Article 216 of the Civil Procedure Code cannot be waived. In contrast, the parties may waive the right to appeal the Court’s decision whether or not to approve or set aside the award (the provision in Article 217 Section 1 of the Civil Procedure Code is in this respect misleading). Furthermore, if the courts were assisting in the arbitration, the award can only be chal-lenged during the court procedure for approval of the award.

25 Enforcement

What procedures exist for enforcement of foreign and domestic awards?

Foreign awards: the UAE have not yet acceded to the New York or Geneva Conventions on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.

In the absence of another multi- or bilateral treaties, such as the GCC treaty or the bilateral agreement with France, foreign arbitral awards will be enforced according to the rules that apply to foreign judgments, the most essential of which being that of reciprocity. See also question 15.

Historically, a French situs for the arbitration has often been favoured because of the bilateral treaty on Judicial Coopera-tion and Recognition & Enforcement of Judgments in Civil & Commercial Matters. However, since the GCC States Bahrain and Oman both have adopted the UNCITRAL Model Law, as well as the New York Convention, an arbitration situs in one of these countries could be an interesting option with regard to the enforcement of arbitral awards, as well as for cultural considera-tions.

Domestic awards: Every domestic arbitration award must be registered and approved by the courts normally having jurisdic-tion in order to be enforceable and, therefore, every award will automatically be scrutinised by the courts - even if neither party objects to it.

The procedure for registering the award is as follows: once the award is rendered, a copy of it must be submitted to the parties within five days. In the case that the courts assisted in any manner during the arbitration proceedings (eg if one of the parties refused to participate in the arbitration or delays it), the original of the award and its exhibits must be registered within fifteen days with the Secretariat of the respective court. The court then sets a date for its hearing to grant leave to enforce the award and notifies the party thereof. However, the court may decide without hearing the parties.

When examining the award, the court considers the valid-ity according to the general provisions set forth in Articles 215 and 216 of the Civil Procedure Code, and may remit the award back to the arbitrators in order to have them review a point they omitted to settle, or to explain the award if it is not sufficiently clear for it to be enforced. The arbitrators then have three months to modify their award. After that, the court may either approve



the award and grant leave to enforce it, or it will set the award aside. This decision is subject to appeal. Finally, the award may be subject to correction a second time, if the parties challenge the award under Articles 215 and 216 Civil Procedure Code.

The procedure for registration of the award and Article 215, under which an award can be challenged for material errors, remain the major obstacles for international arbitrations con-ducted under the current laws of the UAE.

26 Costs

Can a successful party recover its costs?

In the absence of applicable institutional rules or party agree-ment, the arbitrators are authorised to determine their own fees and the costs of the arbitration, and they may apportion the costs between the parties, including lawyer’s fees, in total or in part. However, the arbitrators’ decision as to costs can be appealed in the courts, and the courts may modify the decision “so that they correspond to the work supplied and to the nature of the dispute”.

The Dubai International Arbitration Centre provides a schedule of costs that must be applied if the arbitration is con-ducted under its auspices.

alternative dispute resolution

27 Obligatory ADR

Is there a requirement for the parties to litigation or arbitration to consider

alternative dispute resolution before or during proceedings?

The Civil Procedure Code does not provide that mandatory con-ciliation or mediation be conducted prior to any litigation or arbitration. However, the Chambers of Commerce in Abu Dhabi and Dubai provide conciliation services and rules.

Miscellaneous

28 Specific features

Are there any specific features of the dispute resolution system not

addressed in any of the previous questions?

Federal Law provides that only advocates that are UAE nationals can appear before the UAE Courts, except for some Arab lawyers that were licensed prior to the law restricting appearance before the courts to nationals was passed. However, a statutory requirement to be represented by an advocate exists only for cases heard by the Dubai Court of Cassation and the Abu Dhabi Supreme Court. Therefore, the parties can represent themselves before the Courts of First Instance and the Courts of Appeal.

With respect to the arbitration law, it is noteworthy that UAE law – unlike the law in Saudi Arabia – does not impose restric-tions with respect to the arbitrator’s religion and gender.

The UAE are currently in the process of developing a new

arbitration law which will be based on the UNCITRAL

Model Law and which is said to be based on the Egyptian

adoption of the same. This legislation exists already in a

draft form. Furthermore, in May 2003, the UAE Cabinet of

Ministers approved the initiative to accede to the New York

Convention, and this matter is since pending for ratification

in the UAE Supreme Council. The ratification of the New

York Convention may pass in 2006, and the new law could be

promulgated as soon as 2007.

update and trends

MENA Legal in association with SALgER Rechtsanwälte

Contacts: Christian Ule (litigation) e-mail: [email protected] K Florian Buchler (arbitration) e-mail: [email protected]

Darmstädter Landstr. 125 Tel: +49 69 66 42 89 64

60598 Frankfurt am Main Fax: +49 69 66 40 88 10

Germany e-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.mena-legal.com & www.mideastlaw.de

Offices: Frankfurt, Bogotá, Dubai, Houston

United Arab Emirates

Documents

Transcript of United Arab Emirates