DIFC Courts support UAE’s Asia business links with Malaysia cooperation agreement

Dubai / WAM

The DIFC Courts’ ongoing work to underpin the UAE’s business links with Asia has been boosted by a new cooperation agreement with their counterparts in Malaysia. The agreement with the Federal Court of Malaysia covers procedures for the mutual recognition and enforcement of money judgments, and builds on the formal relationships that have been established with judiciaries in China, Singapore and South Korea.
Bilateral trade between the UAE and Malaysia is estimated to be worth US$6 billion annually. In response to these strong business ties, the DIFC Courts and the Federal Court of Malaysia have come together to establish, for the first time, how the two courts will interpret each other’s financial judgments, providing businesses with additional certainty should a contractual dispute arise.
DIFC Courts Chief Justice, Michael Hwang, said, “The DIFC Courts now have formal relationships in place with four of Asia’s largest and most dynamic economies. Given Malaysia’s strong industrial and financial services base, the country has been a priority for some time. This agreement represents another significant step forward for trade ties between the UAE and Malaysia that will provide practical assistance to investors, businesses and lawyers in both countries. It also marks the beginning of what we hope will be a fruitful relationship between our two courts that will enable the sharing of judicial excellence in areas like efficiency and speed of justice.”
The Right Honourable Tun Arifin bin Zakaria, Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Malaysia, was in Dubai to sign the agreement and also to give the first DIFC Dispute Resolution Authority Academy Lecture of 2017.
Chief Justice Zakaria said, “The Malaysian Judiciary welcomes the agreement between our courts. The agreement, which provides for the mutual recognition and enforcement of money judgments, will help stimulate business and trade between Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates. The Malaysian Judiciary is certainly proud to be associated with DIFC Courts, which is one of the forerunners of International Financial Courts. We look forward to greater cooperation with the DIFC Courts for our mutual benefit.”
The DIFC Courts are one of the world’s most connected judiciaries, with enforcement agreements in places with many of the UAE’s key trading partners, including the Commercial Court of England and Wales, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Supreme Court of Singapore, Federal Court of Australia, New South Wales Supreme Court, Supreme Court of Korea, High Court of Kenya (Commercial and Admiralty Division), and Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan.