Dubai Courts achieve 103% case clearance rate in H1

DUBAI: The Dubai Courts of First Instance held a comprehensive meeting chaired by Judge Khaled Yahya Al Hosani, Head of the Courts of First Instance, as part of its meticulous monitoring of strategic performance indicators.

The meeting was attended by the presidents of the specialised courts: Judge Dr. Abdullah Saif Al Shamsi, Head of the Criminal Court, Judge Jamal Salem Al Jabri, President of the Labor Court, Judge Abdullah Al Kaitoob, Head of the Civil Court, Judge Salem Muhammad Al Qaidi, Head of the Real Estate Court , Judge Khaled Obaid Al Mansoori, President of the Execution Court, Judge Mohammed Obaid Al-Mutawa, President of the Personal Status Court, and Judge Khalid Mubarak Al Shamsi, President of the Labor Court.

The meeting reviewed the performance outcomes of the Courts of First Instance during the first half of the current year, with a focus on addressing challenges, proposing solutions, and implementing proactive measures to enhance the judicial system in line with Dubai's global judicial vision.

The meeting highlighted key judicial efficiency indicators, revealing a marked improvement in case clearance rates during the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. A total of 35,051 cases were registered, while 36,076 cases were cleared, resulting in a clearance rate of 103%, up from 93% in 2024.

Judge Khaled Yahya Al Hosani, Head of the Courts of First Instance, affirmed that the positive outcomes reflect an unwavering commitment to the principles of swift justice as a cornerstone for bolstering public confidence and reinforcing Dubai's status as a global capital for judicial innovation and institutional excellence.
He added, "We will continue to enhance our performance by adopting advanced digital solutions and implementing periodic updates to ensure we keep pace with global legal and judicial developments. This is underpinned by the efficiency and reliability of our judicial system, serving Dubai's vision as a future-oriented city."
A detailed breakdown showed improved clearance rates across various specialisations:

The Personal Status Court saw its clearance rate rise from 72% in 2024 (2,283 of 3,192 cases cleared) to 95% in 2025 (2,025 of 2,636 cases cleared). The Real Estate Court delivered an exceptional performance, with its clearance rate surging from 77% to 133%, clearing 991 cases against 743 new registrations.

The Commercial Court demonstrated a significant improvement in efficiency, with its clearance rate rising from 67% to 112%, having cleared 4,931 of 4,418 registered cases. In the Civil Court, the rate increased from 89% to 99%, with registered cases rising from 2,573 to 2,948 and cleared cases from 2,292 to 2,904.

The Criminal Court recorded a notable improvement, with its clearance rate increasing from 88% to 103%. The number of cleared cases reached 20,805, surpassing the 20,184 registered cases, reflecting intensive efforts to process cases with high efficiency.

The meeting also addressed the Judgment Accuracy Index: accuracy in the Commercial Court improved from 88% to 91.4%, while the Civil Court saw an increase from 88.5% to 93.4%. Judgment accuracy in the Real Estate Court improved from 80% to 88.2%, and in the Labour Court from 90.4% to 94%. Overall, the Courts of First Instance recorded an improvement in judgment accuracy from 89% in 2024 to 89.4% this year, reflecting the high quality of judicial performance.

The judges also discussed the impact of the legislative amendment to the Personal Status Law, which came into effect in April 2025, on the performance of the relevant court.

Regarding the Digital Enforcement Monitor, judicial enforcement operations demonstrated high efficiency during H1 2025. A total of 568,678 enforcement applications - including objections, grievances, judicial orders, precautionary attachments, summary actions, and cases related to deposits, fees, and fines -were submitted.

A total of 568,883 applications were executed, achieving a 100% completion rate. This maintains the high efficiency demonstrated in the same period of 2024, where 616,660 of 617,286 applications were executed, also at a 100% rate.

The meeting also reviewed a suite of initiatives launched by the courts, including developing the Digital Enforcement Monitor, adopting smart solutions for case scheduling, ensuring the objective processing of long-standing cases, simplifying procedures, empowering specialised judicial cadres, and enhancing the technical infrastructure to boost operational flexibility and advance institutional readiness for the future.

Performance indicators for H1 2025 were also reviewed against the same period in 2024, covering the average time to judgment (from registration and from the first hearing) and the case assignment rate. The Personal Status Court achieved the highest performance in reducing case duration, with the average time to judgment from registration decreasing from 91 days in 2024 to just 57 days in 2025. The Labour Court made significant progress in the time to judgment from the first hearing, which fell to 26 days from 52 days. The total active caseload of pending cases stood at 4,928.

The positive outcomes achieved by the Dubai Courts of First Instance during the first half of 2025 embody their commitment to their strategic vision: "Pioneering Justice for a Global City," and reflect their dedication to enhancing judicial performance.