ABU DHABI, UAE – The Foreign Experts Court of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD) has managed to maintain high adjudication rates in the cases brought before it over three years since it started operating in 2019.
The Foreign Experts Court has achieved a 90 percent disposition rate out of a total number of about 200 commercial cases submitted to its consideration, and totaling a financial claim value of approximately US$816 million (AED3 billion).
Youssef Saeed Al Abri, Undersecretary of the Judicial Department, said that the performance indicators achieved by the Abu Dhabi Courts reflect the soundness of the sustainable and innovative approach adopted of the ADJD.
The ADJD has been functioning in line with the vision of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Presidential Court and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Judicial Department who has called for an advanced judicial system that supports the economy of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi by providing world-class service that meets the needs of residents and investors of various nationalities.
Al Abri stressed the interest of the Judicial Department in offering a flexible mechanism for settling disputes involving foreign investors.
The establishment of the first Foreign Experts Court was in May 2019, which conducted its first hearing on June 11 and handed down its first bilingual judgment on June 25, 2019.
In accordance with the decision establishing the Court, he said, the panel of the Foreign Experts Court consists of a single judge and two foreign experts tasked with ruling on business-related disputes, investment projects and litigations between business owners.
The court delivers its judgments in Arabic and English, in line with the initiative to adopt English as a second language for judicial proceedings in Abu Dhabi courts.
He explained that Abu Dhabi courts are adopting a unique litigation experience by launching various projects to promote a variety of options such as remote litigation, whether at the stage of claim and case registration or case preparation and trial.
Self-registration services have also been introduced via the Department’s electronic portal and case smart file and activating video-conferencing proceedings for all cases allowing all parties to attend hearings from anywhere.
The courts also issue guidelines on payment orders in commercial matters, receivership, enforcement in cheque-related matters and the work of the Case Management Office (CMO).