DIFC courts consult legal community to increase enforceability of judgements

Dubai: The DIFC Courts, Dubai’s established English-language, commercial common law judicial system, have begun a month-long consultation period with the UAE legal community on the introduction of a new mechanism to allow parties opting into the jurisdiction of the DIFC Courts to also refer their final judgements for enforcement through the DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Centre. “If it comes into force, the innovative Practice Direction, the first of its kind globally, would allow the DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Centre to convert a DIFC Courts’ judgement into an arbitral award, providing greater enforcement internationally under the provisions of the New York Convention of 1958,” the DIFC said on Monday. Observations, comments and suggestions on the Practice Direction consultation can be submitted to the DIFC Courts via email at Consultation@difccourts.ae The consultation will close at 4pm on August 6, 2014.