Hadef In The UAE Courts

Monthly report based on practical experience of our team of advocates in the courts of the UAE. This month, Michael Dark and Mahmoud Awad discuss foreign arbitration as an option for foreign companies facing disputes in the UAE.

Many foreign companies entering into contracts with local companies in the UAE may naturally be concerned that should a dispute arise, it will end up in the local courts where the foreign company perceives the local company to have an advantage. This perception is true in almost all countries in the world and is not peculiar to the UAE.

One option that is sometimes chosen by foreign companies in these circumstances is to provide for foreign arbitration as a method of dispute resolution, for example, arbitration in a neutral foreign country such as Sweden. If the local UAE company is prepared to agree to such an arrangement, and this may not be a bad choice for the local company, then the next matter that the foreign company must consider is