Dubai: DIFC Courts, the emirate’s English language common law courts, said on Sunday the total value of claims and counterclaims increased 81 per cent to Dh1.76 billion in 2014 compared to the previous year.
It is the first time the value of claims and counterclaims has exceeded Dh1 billion.
“We’ve grown in terms of the size of claims, we’ve grown in terms of the number of claims, we’ve grown in terms of the complexity of the claims,” said Mark Beer, chief executive of the common law courts at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
The DIFC Courts was established in 2006 originally to handle cases in the financial free zone; however, its jurisdiction was expanded in 2011 by Dubai government decree to hear any local or international civil and commercial disputes so long as both parties consent.
The DIFC Courts released its annual report on Sunday that showed that caseloads in the Court of First Instance (CFI) increased by 29 per cent and in the Small Claims Tribunal (SCT) by 69 per cent in 2014 compared to a year ago. Total cases increased 96 per cent.
The average claim amount in the CFI increased 25 per cent, from Dh33.5 million per case in 2013 to Dh42 million last year. Overall, 92 per cent of cases lodged with the DIFC Courts are settled without going to trial, Beer said. The the average time for case to be heard and tried remains between 9 and 12 months despite the increase in claims and caseloads.
Arbitration cases increased 100 per cent in 2014.
Treaties
Meanwhile, Beer said he expected cases involving companies and assets in Africa to increase given the growing investment in the continent by Dubai and neighbouring states.
The DIFC Courts is able to enforce its rulings internationally through government-to-government treaties and conventions and court-to-court agreements. Rulings can be enforced in the Middle East, China, France and Kazakhstan through treaties and in the Arab world through convention, Beer said. The DIFC also has agreements with courts in New York, London, Kenya, Singapore and Australia.
Sir Richard Field was appointed as a judge of the DIFC Courts in January after retiring as Judge in Charge of the Commercial Court in London.
