Onshore UAE Pro-Arbitration Court Decisions 2024-2025

The UAE's arbitration landscape continues to mature, and recent Court of Cassation decisions from 2024 and 2025 show that the onshore courts are actively supporting that trajectory. Three themes stand out. First, the courts are increasingly protecting the arbitral process from judicial interference, most notably by confirming that interim measures issued by tribunals cannot be annulled by the courts. Second, they are moving toward substance over form, including by clarifying that arbitral awards need not be signed on every page to be enforceable. Third, while the overall direction is pro-arbitration, the case law remains formalistic in some areas (especially around authority to sign arbitration agreements and witness oath requirements) where parties and tribunals should continue to exercise caution.