On 14 September 2021, a Decree (no. 34) by the government of Dubai (currently only available in Arabic) (the Decree) abolished two of Dubai’s most successful arbitration institutions: the Dubai Maritime Arbitration Centre (EMAC) and the DIFC-LCIA Centre.1)The DIFC-LCIA was established as a joint venture between Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Dubai Arbitration Institute (DAI),…
With 2019 concluded and a new decade on the horizon, it is worth reflecting on salient arbitration-related developments in the United Arab Emirates. As a jurisdiction, the UAE is not only a geographically-strategic venue for arbitration, but also a legally strategic one. As Dr. Gordon Blanke explained in his recent post, the UAE offers opportunities…
At the dawn of the New Year, it is time to provide an update on the Dubai International Financial Court (DIFC)’s role as a conduit. Since the DIFC’s first entry onto the jurisdictional landscape as a conduit for the recognition and enforcement of awards for onward execution against assets of award debtors in onshore Dubai,…
To readers of this Blog, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is well known as an arbitration-friendly seat of arbitration in its own right. Developments there are fast apace and have more recently given rise to two challenge actions that, in turn, have raised considerations of arbitrability within the DIFC and the status of the…
A recent decision of the Dubai-DIFC Judicial Tribunal (the “JT”) (see Cassation No. 6/2017 (JT) – Assas Investments Limited v. Fius Capital Limited) – even though not quite a saving grace – appears to throw a lifeline to the DIFC Courts in their role as a conduit jurisdiction. Regular readers of this Blog will recall…
