The new arbitration working group is launched by The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts
There are defined panel of experts being allocated for tasks such as sharing and reinforcing developments along with the best practices. There are team of arbitration professional which are surrounded with advisories. This also includes bodies, centers, educational institutions, and industry-related organizations also.
From all over the world, multitude of high-value arbitrations are dealt by the DIFC Courts. Nonetheless, The DIFC court is the most preferred seat of arbitration because this court is particularly chosen by parties. Under the new division of influx, operations are expanded to accommodate. Therefore, this leads to resolving high-value complex commercial disputes by offering a wealth of judicial experiences.
Competing in Arbitration
The Chief Justice, DIFC Courts, Zaki Azmi said “Even though it is not our intention to compete with the arbitration industry when performing as a court but we can complement the offering services of arbitration centers. Our long-term vision is to work closely with as many experts and industry-specific organizations to gain a better understanding of how we can adjust and modify our Court services to better assist those with arbitration-related disputes.”
Due to enormous increase in arbitration related cases, it became a mandate requirement to establish Arbitration Division by the DIFC courts and this has resulted to increase in the process efficiency when it came to review application for interim measures and injunctive relief mechanisms.
The DIFC Courts is also going to empower its specialized Arbitration Division to leverage existing enforcement expertise, helping to ensure certainty of recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards Utilizing its global connect beyond national and regional boundaries of UAE.
The DIFC court is best used by the lawyers, Law firms and companies because they make sure to write the court’s jurisdiction into their contracts for dispute resolution. the DIFC Courts can also be chosen as a ‘default’ seat/supervisory court for arbitration-related disputes.
Technology adoption due to Pandemic.
Considering the current situation of pandemic (COVID-19), All the services by the DIFC courts are provided through advanced technology infrastructure which can be accessed via smartphones, tablets, or desktop devices. Because of the technology advancement the access to court justice has also increased with the help of first fully digitally integrated e-Courtroom and Case Management System in 2016, as well as the region’s first ‘paperless’ e-bundling solution in 2018.
No work is restricted or stopped however, in recent months the new Arbitration Division has heard applications via teleconference and released Court Orders and Judgments digitally. The Arbitration Working Group launched its inaugural meeting via videoconference on October 1, discussing its functions and objectives, as well as next steps for the taskforce.