TAHKEEM organises symposium on arbitration and real estate

Sharjah / Emirates Business

The Sharjah International Commercial Arbitration Centre, or TAHKEEM, recently organised a symposium on ‘Arbitration and the Real Estate Sector’ at the Sheraton Hotel Sharjah, in collaboration with Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Real Estate Registration Department and Sharjah Media Centre.
Participants included senior officials and directors from government institutions and private companies operating within the real estate
sector. They included property developers and brokers, banking professionals, and those concerned with real estate affairs.
Topics addressed at the event included the relationship between arbitration and the real estate sector, in Sharjah and the UAE, usufruct contracts, and real estate disputes. TAHKEEM, established in 2009, was created to deal with the dissemination of an “arbitration culture” within the various economic and investment sectors in Sharjah. The aim being: to create an attractive and stable investment environment, in the emirate.
Speaking at the event, HE Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman of Sharjah Media Centre (SMC) and Chairman of Tilal Properties, said: “The real estate sector is an essential pillar of growth and development in the Emirate of Sharjah. It reflects the vision of HH Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, regarding the provision of a secure and stable environment for attracting real estate investment.”
“Importantly, this symposium brings together experienced professionals to exchange ideas and discuss the many subjects related to arbitration and the real estate sector. This reflects the Emirate of Sharjah’s keenness to provide a secure investment climate that integrates legislation and adopts equitable arbitration in order to facilitate investors’ business activities and protect their investments,” he continued.
“Since the issuance of the Real Estate Registration Regulatory Law 1972, under which the Real Estate Registration Office was established, the sector has generated confidence from investors. This is due to the evolution of the regulatory legal frameworks and the legislation system; this helped create a real estate investment environment that ensures the rights of all. This has had positive effects on economic development in general and increased the overall GDP,” he added.
Sheikh Sultan stressed that the real estate sector in Sharjah is strong, firmly established and able to overcome difficulties and crises. He pointed out that it was the least affected by the global economic crisis and maintained balance between supply and demand, thereby winning over investors’ confidence in the emirate’s real estate sector.
He pointed out that Sharjah’s strategic location and geographic nature reflected positively on the successive developments witnessed by the real estate market in Sharjah and its economic growth in general. This has recently led to the launch of many major real estate and tourism projects, many of which are the first of their kind and have been associated with new legislation consistent with the giant strides being made in Sharjah’s real estate market.
Sheikh Sultan concluded: “The legislature in the Emirate of Sharjah has granted usufruct rights, for a period of a hundred years, to nationals other than UAE and Gulf nationals. This includes the right to bequeath, mortgage and exchange this right, to trade the property units located within real estate projects that are ready for zoning, and to organise the real estate brokerage profession. This has resulted in unprecedented interest in property investment in the emirate.”
He also indicated that despite the limited number of real estate disputes in Sharjah, this does not preclude the idea of providing support for the legal system by judicial options, including tools that settle any disputes in accordance with confidential and cost-effective procedures. This can be made possible through the flexible arbitration systems that facilitate investors’ businesses and replicate procedures observed in many countries and major companies around the world.