The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts: A Specialised Commercial Court in the Middle East

Abstract

The Dubai International Financial Centre came into existence in 2004 and has since developed into a world class financial centre. Established in order to attract foreign investment and to make Dubai an international hub for commercial and financial transactions, the DIFC is an independent jurisdiction under the UAE Constitution, with its own civil and commercial laws, mostly based on common law. The DIFC Laws are modelled on the best practices of the world’s major financial jurisdictions and embody the best of international financial and commercial law. DIFC’s laws and regulations are developed and administered by the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority (DIFCA) and the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and are written in English. Importantly, the DIFC has also its own Courts, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts: a specialised commercial court in the Middle East operating exclusively in English and based on common-law principles. In this article, we will discuss and analyse the function of the DIFC Courts.

Keywords: DIFC Courts; Dubai; UAE

JEL Classification: K