Arbitration is how most substantial UAE commercial disputes are resolved when the contract sends them there. We act for contractors, developers, suppliers, distributors, shareholders and foreign companies in arbitral proceedings seated in the UAE and abroad, from the clause that fixes the forum to the award and its enforcement. Our work covers construction, commercial, shareholder and cross-border matters.
An arbitration is decided long before the hearing. The seat, the rules, the number of arbitrators and the wording of the clause set the boundaries of everything that follows, and an award is only worth what a court will enforce. As arbitration lawyers in Dubai, we work from the agreement first and the merits second, because a strong case under a defective clause is a weak case in practice.
The arbitration agreement
We draft and review arbitration clauses so the forum, seat and governing law are settled before a dispute exists. The 2018 UAE Federal Arbitration Law (Federal Law No. 6 of 2018) governs onshore-seated arbitration, while the DIFC and ADGM apply their own arbitration laws. Decree No. 34 of 2021 abolished the DIFC-LCIA and moved its caseload to the Dubai International Arbitration Centre, which means legacy DIFC-LCIA clauses now carry enforcement risk that a review can fix before it matters.
Conduct of proceedings
We represent parties in arbitration administered by DIAC under its 2022 Rules, by the ADGM Arbitration Centre, and by the ICC and LCIA. The work is the same whatever the institution: build the record, frame the claims or defences, manage the tribunal, and control the procedural timetable. UAE arbitration rewards preparation over advocacy, and the file assembled in the first weeks decides most of the outcome.
Enforcement and challenge
An award still has to be ratified by the competent court before it bites. We act on enforcement of domestic and foreign awards through the onshore courts and the DIFC, on applications to set awards aside, and on resisting enforcement where grounds exist. The UAE is a New York Convention state, and the DIFC and ADGM courts are used as enforcement conduits where the structure of the matter calls for it.
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