News from the Courts

England and Wales’s senior judge, The Right Honourable The Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, was in Dubai recently for a first-hand look at the DIFC’s system for resolving business disputes, highlighting the close bond between the two judiciaries. The Rt. Hon. The Lord Thomas Of Cwmgiedd has been Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales since October 2013.

The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales began his visit with a tour of the DIFC Courts and was shown how Dubai’s established English-language, commercial common law judicial system is empowering regional commerce.

In 2013, the DIFC Courts signed a memorandum with the Commercial Court of England and Wales, a sub-division of the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court of Justice, the major civil court in England and Wales, defining issues such as the mutual enforcement of judgments.

The Rt. Hon. The Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd said, “Dubai is known internationally as a centre of commerce but the work of the DIFC Courts is also helping the emirate to earn a reputation as a leading centre for dispute resolution. As commerce becomes ever more global, judiciaries like the DIFC Courts have emerged to protect businesses and play a complementary role to established centres such as the Commercial Court of England and Wales.”   

 Later that day, The Rt. Hon. The Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd directly addressed more than one hundred members of the UAE legal community when he delivered the first Academy of Law for the DIFC lecture of 2016.  His talk was themed “Commercial Justice and the Global Village” and addressed issues such as technological developments on court procedures and the key factors in achieving international collaboration between commercial courts.

DIFC Courts Chief Justice Michael Hwang said, “Connecting with the court systems of the UAE’s major trading partners is an essential part of our work.  The Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd’s visit to Dubai builds on the formal ties established between the DIFC Courts and our peers in England and Wales, with the knowledge and expertise exchanged during his trip furthering our shared goal of delivering global dispute resolution excellence.”