DIAC Rules 2022 – Finally Fit For Purpose

On 2 March 2022, the DIAC published its much anticipated new arbitration Rules (the "2022 Rules"). They come into effect on 21 March 2022 and apply to arbitrations commenced after that date.

The introduction to the 2022 Rules notes "there have been many changes to the practice of arbitration" since the publication of the 2007 Rules. To name but a few: Dubai enacted the DIFC Arbitration Law in 2008, Abu Dhabi the ADGM Regulations in 2015 and the UAE the Federal Arbitration Law in 2018; virtual hearings, encouraged by the Covid-19 pandemic, seem set to stay; and, more recently, Decree No. 34 of 2021 abolished the DIFC-LCIA and Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre and merged them into the DIAC.