The Story of the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts: A Retrospective

Abstract

Can Western-based, English-speaking, common law commercial courts operate successfully in an environment that are not their own — such as in the Middle East? This question is not a simple thought experiment but rather the reality that has occurred since the mid-2000s in the Emirate of Dubai. This monograph recounts the history of how the ‘Dubai International Financial Centre Courts’ emerged. Drawing on extensive interviews with key stakeholders involved in the process, along with rich original documents as well as all of the Courts’ judgments, this narrative offers important lessons for those seeking to understand more fully the complex interplay of how law, legal institutions and legal and political actors operate in today’s globalised world.

Keywords: DIFC Courts; Dubai; Comparative Law; Commercial Courts; Law and Globalisation