We have a team of corporate lawyers who can handle financial crimes and Business related legal issues all over the UAE.
Foreign investors were reluctant to use the courts in the domestic courts to settle disputes, as both:
Proceedings in the local courts are concluded in Arabic. Although the decisions of the UAE court of cassation have a persuasive effect on lower courts, there is no system of binding precedent, which can result in some instances in unpredictable judicial decisions.
As the popularity of arbitration has grown as a method for resolving disputes, so too has the number of arbitration institutions offering arbitration. Today, separate arbitration institutions are located in each of the Emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi:
DIFC-LCIA
The arbitration costs are based on the time spent by the Secretariat and the arbitrator(s), it is not possible for the DIFC-LCIA to provide you with a breakdown or estimate of the likely total costs of arbitration (unlike some other institutions that operate on an ad valorem basis and provide cost calculators).
DIAC
The Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) is located in mainland Dubai and very recently opened a branch office within the DIFC.
Under the DIAC, arbitration costs depend on the claim amount. In order for the Request for Arbitration to be registered, anyone should meet the requirements set forth in Article 4.1 of the DIAC Arbitration Rules and be accompanied by a non-refundable Registration Fee of AED 5,000 in accordance with Article 4.4 thereof (in conjunction with Article 1 of the Appendix – Cost of Arbitration to the DIAC Arbitration Rules). On this matter, please note that, until further notice, any payments, whether as registration fees or in relation to ongoing cases, should be made by bank transfer.
The Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) legal system. The ADGM is a free zone in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, established in 2013, that also has its own civil and commercial laws, and its own English-language common law courts. In common with the DIFC, the ADGM has been designed to attract international investment into Abu Dhabi. The ADGM also has its own arbitration law based on the UNCITRAL Model Arbitration Law.
Note: In case you are a party to the contract with an arbitration clause subjecting the dispute to the DIFC-LCIA and your claim amount is very less compared to the fees of the DIFC- LCIA. One alternate option you have is to file an application before the small claims tribunal within the DIFC courts requesting to resolve the dispute under the DIFC courts. For this you can go to the DIFC courts website and get into the forms and choose SCT form and file an application for which you need to pay 5% of the claim amount as a registration fee which is non-refundable.
