The UAE Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has recently published a letter to the Dubai Courts confirming that that the UAE Courts can now enforce judgments of English Courts in the UAE on the ‘Principle of Reciprocity’.
The MOJ has acknowledged this following a Dubai Court Judgment by the English Court in Lenkor Energy Trading DMCC V Puri (2020) EWHC 25. In this case, there was an enforcement of a Debt given by the Court of England.
The UAE in Article 85 of Cabinet Resolution No.57 of 2018 concerning executive regulations of Federal Law no.11 of 1992, stated that Judgments such as this issued in a foreign state may be enforced in the UAE under the same state conditions prescribed by the law of that state.
In simple terms, this means that judgments issued by courts in the United Kingdom against British expatriates in the UAE will be enforceable in the UK. Most cases will include civil and financial cases and asset division disputes between family members or spouses.
This is something which has finally come after years, the ruling of the English court set a “legal precedent” for judgments made to be applicable in both countries, It will most definetly have a huge impact on those who obtain English financial remedy orders on a divorce requiring a UAE resident to pay sums of money, whether it be for spousal maintenance, lump sum, property adjustment, child arrangements or otherwise.
Many British expatriates who have had cases in the past and were not able to enforce them in the UAE Courts, will now be able to take steps to obtain enforcement on their UK Court final judgments.
Aramas Law will be able to help and advise British expatriates on this new breakthrough.
