ensuring smooth credit recovery and collections with protection by legislation

DIFC COURTS

Marcus Evans workshop: Ensuring Smooth Credit Recovery and Collections with Protection by Legislation7 March, 2017

DIFC

World Trade

Regional Opportunities

Sub Heading Projects• US$1.68tn

Growth• 4%

Workforce• 350m• Urbanisation• Middle Class

Spending• Saudi-23% GDP

Access• Africa• South America

Wealth• US$5 trillion to

manage• India 7.2%

Thanks but no thanks

Traditional view of litigation in the Middle East

Go in a lamb

Come out a ……..

Creates….

Financial

InstitutionCertainty

Business DIFC Courts

Credit EfficientResolution

Dispute

EconomicGrowth

Foundation for Business Growth

Serve the international business community by maintaining a world-class judicial system which enjoys the confidence of the commercial sector

Heart of Commerce

• Up and running since 2008

• Common Law

• English language

• Commercial and civil

• World’s most advanced commercial court

Who we are…

Judicial Structure

DIFC Courts

• Deal with cases justly

• Ensure parties on equal footing

• Save expenses

• Deal with cases proportionately,

expeditiously and fairly

• Allot the appropriate share of

Courts’ resources

DIFC Courts – Overriding Objectives

Specialised remedies

Injunctions1

Summary Judgment2

Amalgamation and Joinder3

Small Claims Tribunal -A private, cost-effective solution for SMEs

• Claim amounts less than AED500,000• 90% of cases settled within three weeks• No lawyers• Private and informal

SMART SCT

• The GCC’s first smart Small Claims Tribunal.

• Provides parties in a dispute, as well as the judge, access to the case from remote locations on smartphones and computers.

• Smart court is fully equipped with video conferencing technology that enables individuals and SMEs to participate in hearings from anywhere in the world.

Collaboration

Other Courts

Memoranda of Guidance

Memoranda of Understanding

DIFC Courts Order Enforcement

What others are saying:

• The Oath, Middle East Law Journal wrote: “The DIFC Courts are considered to be in the top three commercial courts in the world and are planning to expand their operations”

• Reuters Article: “For many clients, mainly financial institutions and blue-chip corporations, DIFC Courts have become very important as a service centre…they’re one reason, if not the main reason, for being headquartered in the DIFC.”

• James King, The Banker: “In recent years, Dubai has been developing its capabilities in the field of dispute resolution, with its crowning achievement being the creation of its Dubai International Financial Centre courts, which have only increased Dubai’s appeal as an international finance hub.”

A force for positive change?

The Honourable Mr Justice Cooke, Judge In Charge of the Commercial Court of England & Wales, remarked: “The Memorandum of Guidance between DIFC Courts and the UK Commercial Court sets out the basis upon which judgments of one court can be enforced in the other and helps to engender an atmosphere in which business can flourish." Former UAE Minister of Justice HE Hadef Al Dhaheri commented: "The importance of Dubai offering two judicial systems, one Arabic language civil and one English language common law, should not be underestimated. The choice that is now offered to businesses operating here must be celebrated.”