Civil cases in the UAE: how a commercial dispute moves through the courts

Short answer

• A commercial claim is governed by the Civil Procedure Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022, as amended by Federal Decree-Law No. 22 of 2025 from 1 January 2026.
• Claims are filed electronically, in Arabic, and the court fee must be paid within three business days of notice or the registration is void.
• In Dubai, claims up to AED 500,000 in the listed categories must go to the Centre for Amicable Settlement of Disputes before they can be filed.
• The Case Management Office prepares the case: it serves the defendant, collects the memoranda and can refer technical issues to a court-appointed expert, whose report frequently decides the outcome.
• A first-instance judgment can be appealed within 30 days. A Court of Appeal judgment can go to the Court of Cassation within a further 30 days, but only where the claim exceeds AED 500,000 or has no fixed value.

Which court hears the claim

The UAE has three levels of courts: the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation. Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah have their own local judiciaries, while claims in the other emirates go to the federal courts. The UAE government’s guide to the court system sets out the structure. The same Civil Procedure Law applies across all of them, but each judiciary has its own platform, fees and internal circuits.

Jurisdiction also depends on the contract. A valid arbitration clause takes the dispute out of the courts. A clause choosing the DIFC Courts or ADGM Courts sends it to the financial free zone courts, which follow common law procedure in English. This article covers the onshore courts. Our litigation lawyers in Dubai act for companies in commercial claims at all three levels, and our guide to recovering unpaid trade debts covers the faster payment order route for undisputed invoices.

Before filing: conciliation and evidence

In Dubai, the Centre for Amicable Settlement of Disputes must hear certain claims before the courts will accept them. Under Resolution No. 4 of 2025, that includes claims not exceeding AED 500,000, with exceptions for disputes with licensed financial institutions and for urgent applications. If conciliation fails, the claimant receives a certificate that allows it to file. A claimant that goes straight to court in a covered case loses time while the claim is sent back.

The more important preparation is evidence. UAE courts decide commercial claims largely on documents: the contract, invoices, delivery notes, correspondence and accounts. Every document in a foreign language must be translated into Arabic by a certified translator. A claimant that assembles a complete file before it files avoids the delays that come from adding documents later.

Filing the claim

The claim is filed through the court’s electronic platform, such as the Dubai Courts system or the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department portal, with the lawyer signing electronically through UAE Pass. The statement of claim sets out the parties, the facts, the legal grounds and the exact relief sought.

Under Article 47(1) of the Civil Procedure Law, registration takes effect from filing only if the court fee is paid within three business days of the notice. Otherwise the registration is void. In Dubai the fee is a percentage of the claim, subject to caps that depend on its value. Where the defendant’s native language is not Arabic, the claimant must also serve a certified English translation of the claim, unless the parties agreed another language.

Service and case management

Once the claim is registered, it moves to the Case Management Office, which manages the case until it is ready for the judge.

Serving the defendant

Under Article 9, the defendant can be served personally, through electronic means such as SMS, email, recorded calls and smart applications, or, as a last resort, by publication. A defendant abroad is served through diplomatic channels, and service is complete 21 working days after the request is sent. Service problems are a frequent cause of early delay, so the claimant should give the court every address, phone number and email it holds for the defendant.

Exchanging memoranda

Under Article 48(2), the defendant must file its defence within ten business days of service. The parties then exchange replies and supporting documents through the Case Management Office. The supervising judge can hear witnesses, refer the parties to conciliation and treat a claim as abandoned where the claimant does not pursue it.

The court-appointed expert

In construction, accounting, banking and other technical disputes, the judge appoints an expert under Article 109 of the Evidence Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 35 of 2022. The expert meets the parties, reviews documents, and files a report that the court relies on heavily. Parties must attend the expert meetings, give the expert their documents and file objections to the draft report on time. A party that treats the expert stage as a formality can lose the case there.

If you are the defendant

A defendant has fewer days than it expects. The defence is due ten business days after service, and the points it fails to raise at the start can be lost.

The first question is jurisdiction. Under Article 8 of the Arbitration Law, Federal Law No. 6 of 2018, a defendant that wants to rely on an arbitration clause must raise it before it makes any submission on the merits. A defendant that files a defence on the substance first may be treated as having waived arbitration. Objections that the claim belongs in the DIFC Courts or in another emirate should also be raised at the outset.

The second question is the counterclaim. A defendant with its own claim against the claimant, for defects, delay or unpaid sums, can bring it in the same proceedings, and the expert can review both claims together. Raising it early keeps the two claims in one case and avoids a second set of fees and delays.

Hearings and judgment

When the Case Management Office has completed the file, it refers the case to the trial court. Hearings in UAE commercial cases are short and largely procedural: the court reviews the written submissions and the expert report, and oral argument is limited. The advocacy happens on paper, which makes the quality of the memoranda decisive.

The court can also grant interim relief during the case. A precautionary attachment freezes the defendant’s assets before judgment where the claimant shows a likely debt and a risk that the defendant will dispose of its assets. For a claimant that expects to win but doubts it will be paid, this is the step that matters more than any other in the case. Our article on asset freezing in the UAE covers precautionary measures.

The judgment is issued in Arabic. It orders payment of the amount found due, with interest where the court awards it, and allocates court fees and costs. Legal fees are recovered only in part, if at all, so a claimant should not count on recovering the cost of the case.

Appeal and cassation

A first-instance judgment is not the end of the case. Either party can take it to the Court of Appeal, and in larger cases to the Court of Cassation.

The Court of Appeal

An appeal must be filed within 30 days of the judgment, or ten days in urgent matters. Under Article 164, as amended in 2025, the statement of appeal is filed with the Case Management Office or electronically. It must identify the judgment, the grounds and the relief sought, or the appeal is inadmissible. Under Article 167, the Court of Appeal can decide the appeal in chambers within 20 working days, either rejecting it with reasons or setting it down for a hearing. The Court of Appeal reviews both the facts and the law, and it can appoint a new expert.

The Court of Cassation

Under Article 178, a cassation appeal must be filed within 30 days, half the period that applied before 2023. Under Article 175, as amended from 1 January 2026, cassation is available only where the claim exceeds AED 500,000 or has no determinable value. A judgment that conflicts with an earlier final judgment can be challenged whatever the value. The Court of Cassation reviews only the law and does not reopen the facts. It can uphold the judgment, overturn it or send it back.

After the judgment

A final judgment gives the winning party a right. It does not pay the debt. Recovery requires a separate execution file with the Execution Court, which can freeze accounts, attach property and impose travel bans. Our guide on what happens after you win a case in the UAE courts covers execution step by step.

Timing matters at this point too. A provisional attachment obtained during the case falls away if the appeal judgment is not executed within 30 days of its issue. A creditor that holds an attachment should be ready to open the execution file as soon as the judgment becomes enforceable.

How does a commercial dispute move through the UAE courts?

A commercial dispute in the UAE onshore courts follows a fixed path under Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022. In Dubai, smaller claims go first to mandatory conciliation. The claim is then filed electronically in Arabic and the fee is paid within three business days. The Case Management Office serves the defendant, collects the memoranda and refers technical issues to an expert. The trial court decides largely on paper, and either party can appeal within 30 days and, for claims above AED 500,000, seek cassation within a further 30 days.

The decisive stages come earlier than parties expect. The documents assembled before filing, the submissions made to the court-appointed expert and a precautionary attachment obtained during the case shape the result more than any hearing. Missed deadlines, from the fee payment to the appeal period, cannot be recovered.

For companies bringing or defending commercial claims, our litigation team advises on court strategy, expert proceedings, appeals and cassation, and the precautionary steps that protect recovery. Related reading: enforcement of foreign judgments in the UAE and enforcing a DIFC Court judgment against onshore assets.

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