The Evolution of Arbitration in the UAE
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There have been a number of significant developments in the UAE
over the past thirty years of course, but I would say that
probably the two most significant are
the UAE’s accession to the New York Convention in 2006
which was made without any reservations
and just recently in 2018,
the UAE has adopted a new Arbitration law
which is built around the UNCITRAL Model Law
and international best practice.
I would say that those are probably the two most significant developments
in the practice of international arbitration in the UAE.
Dubai, of course, is a bit of an arbitration hub for the region.
It is internationally now recognised as such.
In 2010, I believe, the first application
for the recognition of a foreign award
under the New York Convention was made.
It was an uncontested application before the Fujairah Courts
and for the first time the Courts recognised
a foreign award under the New York Convention.
We were fortunate enough to be the applicants on behalf
of the parties seeking enforcement on that case
and in 2011, there was the first contested application
for recognition of two separate DIFC-LCIA awards,
London seated, where we were involved
both in London and in Dubai
in seeking to have the awards enforced
under the New York Convention here
in support of an Award Creditor
and we were successful.
So the UAE has obviously grown and matured
as a jurisdiction in international arbitration
and as a firm that has been around for thirty years in the UAE,
we have been privileged to be there along the way,
helping, I think, the jurisdiction mature
both by acting as Party Counsel
and also by having the opportunity
to advise various committees and governments
on the reform of legislation and regulation.