New Arbitration Institution, ArbitrateAD, Launches In Abu Dhabi

Following an announcement by the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry in December 2023 that the Abu Dhabi Commercial Conciliation and Arbitration Centre (ADCCAC) would be shut down in early 2024 and replaced with the Abu Dhabi International Arbitration Centre (styled as arbitrateAD), arbitrateAD has now been officially launched.

The arbitration rules of arbitrateAD confirm how arbitrateAD will fit into the existing arbitration landscape of the Emirate. Notably:

(a) arbitrateAD will supersede the previous arbitration institution, the Abu Dhabi Commercial Conciliation and Arbitration Centre (ADCCAC), as the main arbitration institution in 'onshore' Abu Dhabi. Parties that previously chose to apply the ADCCAC rules to their arbitration, will now be taken as having chosen to apply the new arbitrateAD rules (provided that proceedings have not already been commenced under the ADCCAC rules).