- The DIFC Courts can decide a whole claim, part of a claim, or a single issue without a trial.
- The test is whether the other side has no real prospect of success and no other compelling reason for trial.
- The onshore Dubai courts offer nothing equivalent, which is a practical reason to opt in.
- A weak case can also be met with a conditional order requiring money to be paid into court.
What immediate judgment does
Rule 24.1 of the Rules of the DIFC Courts allows the Court to give immediate judgment against a claimant or a defendant. It can do so on the whole of a claim, part of a claim, or a particular issue. The Court must consider that the respondent has no real prospect of succeeding or successfully defending. It must also find no other compelling reason for a trial. Our dispute resolution lawyers in the UAE bring and defend these applications in DIFC proceedings.
Rule 24.2 sets the three permitted bases for the application. A point of law, including a question of construction of a document. The evidence that can reasonably be expected to be available at trial, or the lack of it. Or a combination of the two.
Rule 24.3 makes the remedy available in any type of proceedings, against either side. That matters more than it first appears. A defendant facing an inflated claim can remove the weakest heads before disclosure. A claimant holding a clear contractual entitlement can obtain judgment without waiting years.
When you can apply and how quickly it moves
Rule 24.4 prevents a claimant from applying until the defendant has filed an acknowledgment of service or a defence. The exceptions are permission from the Court or a practice direction to the contrary.
Rule 24.5 then removes an obstacle that would otherwise slow things down. Where a claimant applies before the defence is filed, the defendant need not file a defence before the hearing.
The notice periods are short. Rule 24.6 requires the respondent to be given at least 14 days' notice of the hearing date and of the issues the Court will decide. Where the Court fixes a hearing on its own initiative, Rule 24.10 requires written evidence to be filed seven days before. Evidence in reply follows three days before.
The application notice itself must state that it is made under Part 24. Rule 24.8 requires it, or the evidence with it, to identify the point of law relied on. The alternative is a statement that the respondent has no real prospect of success. It must also confirm that the applicant knows of no compelling reason for a trial.
What the Court can order
Rule 24.11 gives the Court four options. Judgment on the claim or any part of it. Striking out or dismissal of the claim. Dismissal of the application. Or a conditional order.
The conditional order is the most useful and the least understood. Under Rule 24.12 the Court can make one where a claim or defence may succeed but probably will not. It can require the party to pay a sum into court or take a specified step. Rule 24.13 provides that the claim is dismissed or the statement of case struck out if that party does not comply.
For a defendant facing a speculative claim, that outcome can end the matter commercially. A claimant unwilling to fund security for its own case rarely continues.
Where the application fails or only partly succeeds, Rule 24.19 lets the Court give directions on the defence and the management of the case. Rule 24.22 allows a respondent who did not appear to apply to have the order set aside or varied.
Where it works and where it does not
In Krystal Financial Consultants v NextGen Robopark [2025] DIFC CA 007 a five-judge Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal against immediate judgment. The Court used the case to clarify the standard of appellate review from summary disposals.
The claim was for a success fee under a mandate to refinance AED 155 million of debt through Dubai Islamic Bank. Everything turned on whether one email amounted to an objection to the bank's offer. If it did, no fee was due. If it did not, the offer was treated as accepted and the fee fell due. That is a question of construction, so the first instance judge decided it without a trial and dismissed the claim.
The same approach produced judgment in Barclays Bank v Shetty [2020] DIFC CFI 061, decided on 22 April 2021. The Court found nothing in the defence to a guarantee claim that gave a realistic prospect of success. The English Commercial Court later enforced that DIFC judgment on a summary judgment application of its own.
Partial relief is common. In Omar Ben Hallam v Natixis, CFI 016/2025, the Court gave immediate judgment dismissing one head of an employment claim while the rest continued.
The limits are just as clear. In Alizz Islamic Bank v Alef Capital, CFI 048/2025, the Court refused the application. The issues raised fact-sensitive and evaluative questions of construction, conduct and causation, which it held unsuitable for final determination under Part 24.
Why the onshore courts offer nothing equivalent
The onshore Dubai courts have a payment order procedure for established debts. They have no general power to dispose of a claim on the ground that a defence is hopeless.
An immediate judgment application is wider in two respects. It covers any type of claim, not only debts. And it does not depend on the respondent having accepted liability, which the payment order route effectively requires. The onshore alternatives are described in our article on recovering unpaid trade debts in the UAE.
Onshore proceedings also progress through written memoranda and a court-appointed expert, which adds months before any view is formed on the merits. Part 24 puts that question to a judge within weeks of the defence.
How this changes the jurisdiction clause
Article 5 of the DIFC judicial framework allows parties with no DIFC connection to confer jurisdiction on the DIFC Courts by written agreement.
Part 24 is one of the strongest commercial arguments for doing so. A supplier whose entitlement rests on a clear payment clause gains a route to judgment the onshore courts cannot offer. So does a lender relying on a guarantee. The drafting considerations are covered in our article on English law clauses in UAE contracts. The Technology and Construction Division offers a specialist route for project disputes.
The enforcement side follows the same logic. A DIFC judgment can be enforced against onshore assets through the Dubai Execution Courts. Our article on enforcing a DIFC judgment in mainland Dubai describes that process.
What to check before applying
- Identify whether the dispute turns on a document or on conduct, because only the first is suited to Part 24.
- Confirm the defendant has acknowledged service or filed a defence, unless you have permission to apply earlier.
- Draft the application around a single issue where the whole claim is too fact-heavy to dispose of.
- Consider asking for a conditional order in the alternative, since a borderline case may still attract one.
- Cost the application against the trial it would replace, because a failed application funds the other side.
A respondent should treat the 14 day notice period as the whole of its opportunity. The evidence filed at that stage is what the judge decides on. An answer that promises documents which may emerge later will rarely defeat the application.
Is immediate judgment the fastest route to a DIFC judgment?
For the right claim, yes. A construction question, a guarantee or an unambiguous payment obligation can be decided within months of the claim form rather than years. So can a claim that fails as a matter of law.
The discipline lies in choosing what to put forward. Krystal succeeded because one email had to mean one thing or the other. Alizz failed because the answer depended on what the parties did over time and why. A party that applies on the second kind of case pays for a hearing and loses it. It also hands the other side a costs order, and a judicial statement that its opponent has a real prospect of success.
Whether the DIFC Courts are available at all depends on jurisdiction, which our guide to establishing a DIFC entity covers from the structuring side. Legal advice may be required to assess whether a particular claim or defence meets the threshold.
سواء كان الأمر يتعلق بالعمل أو شخصيًا، يقدم فريقنا البصيرة والإرشادات التي تحتاجها للنجاح.
