MAS Law’s litigation team was able to successfully enforce an interim order for costs issued by the arbitral tribunal of DIAC by having the order executed through the Dubai onshore courts.

Unlike in common law jurisdictions such as England and Wales, interim remedies and injunctive reliefs are not so readily available in the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”).

In certain circumstances, courts may have travel bans and/or precautionary attachments enforced against the defendant and their assets, the granting of which is subject to set requirements being satisfied and is at the court’s discretion.

In contrast, in offshore courts such as the DIFC Courts, such reliefs are more generally available given that said courts follow common law principles. Such orders, while enforceable against persons and/or assets within the DIFC, would require additional approval from the UAE courts for their execution onshore.

This may cause difficulties for claimants seeking to enforce interim relief orders against assets or persons onshore given the UAE courts’ reluctance to issue interim orders especially where the UAE courts may not necessarily recognize the order or where they find that the order is not sufficiently final for execution.

MAS  Law’s team was able to leverage their litigation experience to successfully enforce an interim order for costs issued by DIAC for an ongoing arbitration via the Dubai Courts by way of a petition order.

Following dispute between our Client and the Defendant arising from an alleged contractual breach of a partnership agreement, our Client initiated arbitration proceedings at the London Court of International Arbitration at the Dubai International Financial Centre Arbitration Institute (“LCIA-DIFC”), now merged into DIAC[1], in accordance with the terms of the agreement.

During the aforesaid, the Defendant failed to adhere to the LCIA-DIFC procedural rules regarding the payment of arbitration costs which subsequently led to our Client submitting an application to the arbitration tribunal for an interim order for costs. The tribunal accepted the application in part and issued an interim order against the Defendant in our Client’s favour.

Relying on a number of precedents from commercial appeals within the Dubai Court of Cassation along with the UAE Federal Law No. (6) of 2018 on Arbitration, MAS Law submitted, a petition order to the Dubai Courts to have the Arbitral interim order for costs executed onshore against the Defendant.

Article (2) on Applicability “The provisions of this Law shall apply to: 1. Any arbitration conducted inside the State, unless its parties agree to submit it to the provisions of another arbitration law, provided that it does not conflict with the public policy and public morals of the State. 2. Any International Commercial Arbitration conducted abroad, the parties to which agree to submit it to the provisions of this Law; and 3. Any Arbitration arising out of a dispute concerning a legal relationship of a contractual or non-contractual nature, regulated by the laws in force in the State, except as expressly excluded by a special provision.” [2]

Article (39) on Interim and Partial Awards which notes that “1. The Arbitral Tribunal may make interim or partial awards before rendering its final award ending the entire dispute. 2. The temporary orders of the Arbitral Tribunal shall be enforceable before the courts and shall be enforced under an enforcement order issued by the president of the court or his delegate.” [3]

Article (52) Binding Force Of The Awards stating “Arbitral Awards rendered in accordance with the provisions of the present Law shall be binding to all the parties and shall have the authority of the res judicata. Further, it shall have the same self-executing force as if it were a judgment. However, to enforce such awards, a decision to confirm it shall be obtained from the court.”[4]

As well as Article (55) Enforcement Of The Arbitral Award which stipulates “1. The party desiring to enforce the arbitral award shall submit a request for the confirmation of the award and order to enforce thereof to the court, provided that such request is accompanied by the following documents: a) The original award or a certified true copy thereof; b) A copy of the Arbitration Agreement; c) A certified Arabic translation of the arbitral award from an accredited body in case the award was not made in Arabic; and d. A copy of the transcript of filing the judgment with the Court.”[5]

Following the judges review, the petition order was granted with the court ratifying the tribunal’s interim order and ordered for the execution of the aforesaid. The execution order was further challenged by the Defendant; however, the judge dismissed their application to challenge the order.

MAS Law team advising on the matter was led by Partner Abdelmajeed Zwairi (azwairi@maslaw.com) and supported by Senior Associate Ali Sholkami (asholkami@maslaw.com)

[1] By Decree 34 of 2021 the DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Centre was dissolved and its obligations were assigned to Dubai International Arbitration Centre (“DIAC”).

[2] UAE Federal Law No. (6) of 2018 on Arbitration, translated by Thomas Reuters Westlaw Middle East

[3] ibi

[4] ibid

[5] ibid