This book has been long in development. It has progressed to a stage where it is hoped that it will provide a guide to lawyers, arbitrators and other professionals practising arbitration within the United Arab Emirates.

Arbitration is a private dispute resolution mechanism. No two arbitrations are the same because of the diverse mix of ingredients that make up arbitration proceedings. The combination of parties, arbitrators, governing law, institutional rules (if any), seat, language and factual issues is unique to each set of proceedings. At the same time as fostering flexibility and party autonomy, arbitration as a mechanism for dispute resolution also employs very specific procedural requirements. Although there exists a body of jurisprudence, guidelines and rules that could be said to represent international best practice, each place or juridical seat of arbitration will generally have its own procedural peculiarities. That being said, the UAE courts have adopted a certain approach to issues related to arbitration over the years, and it is against this background that this book has been written.

The book is comprised of a series of judgments issued over the last 20 years by the Dubai Court of Cassation, the Federal Supreme Court of Cassation, the Fujairah Federal Court of First Instance and the Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation. The judgments have been carefully selected and summarized with a view to providing the reader with an insight into both how arbitration works and how it is treated by the judiciary in the United Arab Emirates. It does not purport to be a comprehensive compendium of cases. Readers should refer to the original Arabic source judgments for a more comprehensive analysis of the principles espoused in those judgments.

The legal system of the United Arab Emirates – how does arbitration fit in?

The United Arab Emirates is a Federation of seven Emirates: Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain. The Constitution of the United Arab Emirates was signed on 18 July 1971. The Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah joined the Federation in 1972.

The Constitution is the founding source of law in the United Arab Emirates. Chapter V of Part 4 of the Constitution concerns “The Judiciary in the Union and the Emirates”. The Federal Judiciary is an independent body, as outlined in the Constitution.

All laws and rulings must comply with the Constitution, which guarantees certain rights. All government bodies, be they federal or local, fall strictly within the ambit of the Constitution, and it is from there that they derive their powers. Two types of law exist in the United Arab Emirates: federal and local. Federal laws are applicable in the United Arab Emirates as a whole. Local laws, decrees and orders only apply to a particular Emirate. These local laws, decrees and orders are passed and issued by the ruler of each specific Emirate and will only be applicable to the Emirate concerned. Each Emirate has its own local government, consisting of municipalities and departments. Local courts apply both federal law and local laws that have been enacted by the Emirate concerned. In situations of conflict, federal law prevails.

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The legal system of the United Arab Emirates is based on the civil law system. The principal source of law is a statutory code, namely the UAE Civil Code. There is no system of binding precedent in the United Arab Emirates. Despite this, decisions of higher courts, such as the Dubai Court of Cassation, are highly persuasive on the lower courts (namely the Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeal). The persuasive nature of higher court judgments informed the decision to include only higher court judgments in this book.

The United Arab Emirates does not have a dedicated arbitration law, although a draft Federal Arbitration Law is currently under discussion. At present, the regime governing arbitration in the United Arab Emirates is found in a collection of sixteen articles (203 to 218) in the Civil Procedure Code. The United Arab Emirates modernized its approach to foreign arbitration awards by acceding to the New York Convention in 2006. Since its accession, the United Arab Emirates has witnessed the enforcement of a number of foreign arbitral awards pursuant to the New York Convention. Some of these judgments are summarized in this book.

Although this book covers only those decisions of the UAE courts, it should also be mentioned in passing that, in contrast to the United Arab Emirates, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has its own arbitration law and that the courts of the DIFC, which are based on the common law system, also practise a system of binding precedent. The DIFC is an independent jurisdiction that has its own independent civil and commercial laws. The jurisdiction of the DIFC courts has grown since the inception of the DIFC as a financial free zone, and the relationship between the DIFC courts and Dubai courts is harmonious. The United Arab Emirates is thus unique in that it offers parties the choice of two juridical seats: one based in civil law (Dubai) and the other founded on principles of common law (the DIFC). Judgments of the DIFC courts are published in English on the DIFC courts’ website and should be referred to as appropriate.

The United Arab Emirates’ accession to the New York Convention has been accompanied by the steady and continued growth in popularity of arbitration as an alternative dispute resolution forum. Although there is further work to be done, the development, understanding and appreciation now afforded to arbitration means that the United Arab Emirates is fast becoming a safe arbitral haven within the Middle East.
That in itself underscores the importance of this book.