MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR

We are witnessing a structural change from the West to the East, as the basis for economic power and the framework in which it sits changes. While financial services will continue to play a major role in economic development, there is a clear return to a more manufacturing basis as the high growth markets, such as the UAE, utilise their relative financial strength to develop their economies and societies. Pivoting alongside, we are seeing a clear strategy to aggressively advance future economy playmakers; innovation and knowledge.

This shift has resulted in increasing complexity within commercial relationships and increased the reliance they place on the legal system. Courts, increasingly faced with multi-national cases with multi-jurisdictional aspects, have to focus on quality management systems in order to improve their own performance and underpin their reputations.

Within the region, we are witnessing this combination of structural change, economic development, and legal complexity on a regular basis. The UAE is a global hub for trade between the West and the East; whether that physical goods or services. The region is increasing opening its markets up to the trade flows into Asia while, at the same time, undertaking some of the largest infrastructure projects in the world.

It is often the case that the greatest opportunities for improvement and innovation sit within the greatest challenges. As business grows, it is the responsibility of the region’s judicial system to step up to this challenge and demonstrate that it can adapt accordingly. Recognising these opportunities to further assist communities, whether individuals, SMEs, or large multi-national businesses, requires constant collaboration, innovative discussion, and the nimbleness for rapid execution.

Welcome to the DIFC Courts Annual Report 2022.

Today, the world we live in is experiencing change at an unprecedented pace. While financial and political crises may have encouraged a pause in the trend towards globalisation, it has certainly not halted it. Indeed, as we emerge from these episodes, it is clear that the dynamics of global commerce have not changed, but they have shifted.

In January 2023, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the Dubai Economic Agenda ‘D33’ with the ambitious goals of doubling the size of Dubai’s economy over the next decade. Within this comprehensive plan is a vision to transform Dubai into one of the top four financial centres in the world, and to double foreign direct investment (FDI) in the city to reach AED 650 billion over the next decade.

The DIFC Courts will have an integral role to fulfil with supporting the DIFC and Dubai’s status as a leading financial centre. Rule of law, including commercial dispute resolution, is a major driver of economic growth. Reliable, fast, and transparent commercial dispute resolution is a key decisionmaking factor for international investors, creating a competitive advantage for countries that have efficient and transparent systems in place. The global driving force has been dictated by competition between countries for investment. When it comes to resolving disputes, businesses need certainty. It is no coincidence that the judiciaries in the Arab world that can offer this are also among the most economically successful.

Another important factor to consider is the increased societal demands and changing customer behaviour. The region’s judicial systems have never existed within a society as well informed, connected, and sophisticated as today. Users of court services demand convenience, speed and excellence for every proceeding and interaction.

The concept of quality and excellence are no longer associated with the private sector. In fact, there are increased societal expectations from the Courts to adapt to the changing expectations and behaviour of court users.

Increased digital platforms, paperless processes and virtual hearings are all now becoming the new reality. Expectations from the private sector increasingly require the bold engagement of public service. By combining a modern and flexible digital infrastructure with judicial and service excellence, the DIFC Courts will continue to set the benchmark for international commercial courts.

In 2022, the DIFC Courts developed and launched a new roadmap for 2022 -2024 with our Strategic Work Plan, aligning the Courts’ projects and initiatives to actively support federal, local and DIFC strategic objectives. The DIFC Courts plays an important role in supporting Dubai’s status as a global business hub by engendering trust, confidence, and certainty.

The DIFC Courts Strategic Work Plan adopts endto-end digital technology, ensuring court systems are smart, user-friendly, and agile enough to keep pace with global commerce. Innovative implementations will bridge barriers of language, borders, jurisdiction, and currency. AI will reduce clerical burdens, help streamline the case review methodology, create a realistic virtual presence, remove document duplications, and unlock time to take on significantly more complex tasks.

The DIFC Courts concluded 2022 with clear intent and purpose; encapsulated within a four-pillar mandate, the upgraded strategy outlines definable projects and initiatives and an ambitious drive for full digital transformation through advanced technologies to increase the efficiency of dispute resolution. A new hyperconnected judicial network will also be developed alongside cutting-edge legal procedures and specialised Rules for enhanced accessibility to court services. tejouri has been engineered to help address issues of storage and security of these documents and to enable individuals to now transfer this data to one secure location. The DIFC Courts, together with its public and private sector partners, is proud to be able to offer this distinctive service to the public, and to help contribute to a safer digital environment for all.

In 2022, the Court Tech Lab initiative was also activated, with companies entering a competition in conjunction with DFF’s Accelerator Programme in Area 2071. In exploring how judicial systems can be strengthened through technology, the Court Tech Lab unites individuals and companies helping to prototype and launch the advancement of court-based technology. Phase II of the Court Tech Lab initiative was concluded, with the project R&D programme launched to position Dubai as the city that pioneers new industry-specific technologies.

Phase II involved a prototyping stage for two finalists, where they received financial support, as well as access to the DIFC Courts to research, test and adapt the technology solution. The finalists were FaceKi from Bahrain and CourtCorrect from the UK, who provided solutions to their assigned challenge.

In our new digitally driven societies, we are all accumulating mass amounts of important documentation, whether it is for professional, or personal purposes. In 2022, the DIFC Courts launched a global digital vault.

The new ‘digital home for your legacy’ enables the upload and secure storing of documents ranging from insurance contracts, title deeds, Wills, and financial certificates, to images and multimedia files and can be utilised by all individuals globally.

All uploaded life admin files will be secured under the highest standards of security regulation, using multiple factors of authentication, encrypted data, personalised biometric information, and safe-keeping ledgers through advanced cryptography. Using Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), tejouri ensures the transmission of your entire portfolio to your designated stakeholders, or loved ones, at a key time.