The COVID-19 pandemic has not gone away and the prolonged business issues will continue to affect various market players in the short and long-term. As anticipated, this has resulted to a rise in increasingly complex disputes across all industries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region as well as continued to shape the way we resolve disputes going forward. In this vlog series, our MENA Dispute Resolution specialists provide a roundup of the latest developments in the regional dispute resolution landscape as well as insights to challenges and opportunities in the year ahead in the areas of arbitration, construction, offshore litigation, banking and tax litigation.
Episode 3: DIFC Courts’ expansive approach to jurisdiction
Dubai senior associate Andrew Massey discusses the scenarios where the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts take jurisdiction over claims. Andrew also talks about how the DIFC Courts have adopted an expansive approach to jurisdiction over disputes and how it has introduced the necessary and proper party jurisdiction into DIFC law to help resolve multiparty and multijurisdictional disputes.
Episode 2: Recent court trends on arbitration proceedings
Dubai counsel Sally Kotb discusses some of the key issues commonly arising in arbitration proceedings in the UAE, particularly the issues of capacity, conditions precedent, and signature of arbitration awards. Sally also shares some of the recent court judgments that would impact a party’s position to challenge arbitration awards, as well as some best practice tips to minimize risks of having the awards nullified in the future.
Episode 1: Performance guarantees at the center of construction disputes
Dubai associate Terrick McCallum talks about the use of performance guarantees in construction projects and how COVID-19 has resulted to an increased number of unsubstantiated and bad faith calls for payment in construction disputes. Terrick also provides some practical remedies and key considerations in the event a party is unable to avoid a call being made on its performance guarantee.
