DIFC Courts joins top table of global court excellence

Reem Al Shihhe has been selected to represent the DIFC Courts on Executive Committee of International Consortium for Court Excellence.

 Demonstrating the global standing of the DIFC Courts’ commercial judiciary, Reem Al Shihhe, chief operating officer and head of business excellence, has been appointed to the Executive Committee of the International Consortium of Court Excellence (ICCE), the prestigious body founded by the US, Singaporean and Australian judiciaries to bring together international judicial institutions with expertise in court excellence.

The ICCE has developed the International Framework for Court Excellence (IFCE), which assesses a court’s performance in seven areas: Leadership and management, planning and policies, resources, proceeding and processes, client needs and satisfaction, affordable and accessible services, and public trust and confidence.

Reem Al Shihhe said, “To represent the DIFC Courts on the Executive Committee of the International Consortium for Court Excellence is a huge honour, and speaks volumes about the DIFC Courts’ standing within the international legal community. As a committee member, I look forward to sharing my experience within Dubai’s English-language legal system to raise global standards of courts across the world.”

Mark Beer, chief executive and registrar of the DIFC Courts said, “Reem is an outstanding talent and is thoroughly deserving of this opportunity. Her contribution to the judicial landscape across Dubai has been exceptional, and we are delighted to have her represent the DIFC Courts and wider UAE on the International Consortium of Court Excellence. She has worked tirelessly to position the emirate as a world-class legal hub, and I am confident that she will have a significant contribution to global judicial standards in this prestigious position.”

 The chair of the International Framework for Court Excellence, Professor Greg Reinhardt, said that term membership of the Framework was awarded to those who had embraced its objectives and who, in the opinion of the founding members of the Executive Committee, would be good ambassadors for it. The Framework is designed to promote Court excellencec

The ICCE’s Executive Committee is made up of four permanent representatives from the founding institutions of the Consortium: The National Centre for State Courts (NCSC), Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration (AIJA), State Courts, Singapore, and Federal Judicial Centre (FJC). By consensus, permanent members of the Committee may appoint up to three additional individuals to become term members, providing they are a representative of a member organisation of the Consortium.

With Reem’s direction, the DIFC Courts were the first Dubai Government entity to receive the five-star Government Service Award for customer service excellence, and the first courts in the world to achieve the high service standards required by The International Customer Service Institute (TISSE). They have have also won the UAE Customer Service Award for four consecutive years under her guidance, as well as the 2014 UK Law Society Award for Excellence in the International Legal Services.

The next Executive Meeting will be held on the March 27-28, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia during the Supreme Court of Victoria Innovation and Excellence in Courts Conference. Reem, who was put forward by the DIFC Courts to represent the institution on the Executive Committee, will combine her new role in this position with her existing DIFC Courts duties.