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Dubai / Emirates Business
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts released its key figures for the first half of 2018, with total a volume of 368 cases across all divisions, revealing a 64% increase year-on-year. The overall value of claims saw an increase of 181% over the same period, delivering strong growth for the English-language common law courts.
The volume of cases of the main Court of First Instance (CFI) continued to grow in the first half of 2018, increasing by 29% from the first half of 2017. The total value of cases in the same period, including arbitration-related cases, amounted to AED2.2 billion.
The period was also notable for a significant increase in the number of enforcement cases, indicating the confidence businesses have in the DIFC Courts to collect on money judgments. The total value of enforcement claims filed amounted to AED 2.1 billion in the first half of 2018, an increase of 53% (H1 2017: AED 150 million). The number of cases increased considerably by 123 per cent with 87 enforcement cases in 2018, rising from 39 cases in the same period in 2017. The 2018 half year results also demonstrate the increasing number of small businesses and individuals based outside of the DIFC choosing to opt-in to the DIFC Courts’ jurisdiction, electing to have their commercial disputes resolved by the Small Claims Tribunal (SCT). The performance of region’s first SCT was strong in the first six months of 2018, with its case load increasing by 60% to 240 claims (H1 2017: 150 cases).