Filing Cases

Starting the Case- Step-1

In order to commence a claim in the UAE, a claim will have to be filed at the relevant court (i.e. the court which has jurisdiction to hear the dispute). The claim needs to set out the basis of the dispute and the remedies sought. A court fee will also need to be paid. All of the documents filed at court and the claim itself will need to be in Arabic or translated into Arabic by an official translator. The court office will then serve the claim on the defendant and the first hearing date will be set. This is usually 2-3 weeks after the claim has been filed.

In the event that the defendant cannot be physically located then the Court will usually order that the claimant assist the Court with finding the address (service by way of guidance). If this is unsuccessful then the Court will usually order that investigations are carried out with various authorities to locate the defendant. If these searches also prove to be unsuccessful then the Court will usually order that service take place by way of publishing the details of the case in a local newspaper.If a defendant ignores a claim or cannot be located it is possible to obtain a judgment in the defendant’s absence.

In this stage, for a normal person its difficult o do all these procedure himself. So we have experienced lawyers with us, who can do everything in a perfect way. You just have to send us the appropriate details, we will do it in behalf of you.we have automated CRM notoficvation systems, which will send you continous updates on what is happening with your particular case.

Step 2- Hearings

At the first hearing the parties legal representatives will need to produce their powers of attorney in order to confirm that they are authorized to act on behalf of their clients. If powers of attorney cannot be provided at this hearing the court will usually adjourn the hearing to allow the parties to obtain the necessary powers of attorney.After powers of attorney have been provided by the parties, the court will set another hearing date (again, usually 2-3 weeks later) to allow the defendant to respond to the claimant’s claim. The pleadings which are filed by each party are known as memoranda.

The defendant submits its memorandum in response to the claimant’s memorandum at the hearing set by the judge.Before the UAE local courts hearings are very short and administrative in nature and are usually merely a way of allowing parties to submit written memoranda which are then addressed by the other party at the next hearing.Each hearing is set usually 2-3 weeks apart and there can be as many hearings as a judge believes are necessary for each party to have adequately stated its position.

Documents needed to disclose?

There is no formal requirement for disclosure before the UAE courts. Parties are not obliged to submit to the court all documents which either support their case or are detrimental to their case. However since a court-appointed expert can ask to see such documents, the appointment of an expert is also a means of investigating the documents which each party to the dispute has in its possession.

How much time it will take?

Once the judge believes that he has sufficient information regarding the dispute he will set a date to hand down judgment. Judgment is handed down in written form (in Arabic). Some Dubai Court of Cassation Judgments are also displayed on the court website with the parties’ names redacted.