
Publication
Essential Corporate News – Week ending 11 July 2025
On 1 July 2025, the Quoted Companies Alliance (QCA) published three new board committee guides to accompany the QCA Environmental and Social Guide published in December 2024.
Middle East | Publication | June 2020
On November 17, 2019, the DIFC Court handed down a landmark decision in YYY Limited v ZZZ Limited [DIFC] 2017 ARB 0051 (DIFC Court Judgment). In his judgment, Justice Sir Richard Field declined to recognise and enforce a decision of the Dubai Court of Cassation dated October 7, 2018 concerning the validity of an Arbitration Clause (Cassation Judgment). Readers may recall, the Cassation Judgment was the subject of a previous article penned by this firm2. Practitioners and stakeholders in the DIFC will no doubt welcome the DIFC Court Judgment in circumstances where some may argue that the jurisdiction of the DIFC Court has been under threat in recent times3.
In the Cassation Judgment, the Dubai Court of Cassation found that the Arbitration Clause was invalid as a matter of UAE law as the signatory on behalf of Hotel Owner did not have express written authority to bind that entity to arbitration. It was found in the DIFC Court Judgment that, in reaching its decision, the Dubai Court of Cassation did not take into consideration: (i) the DIFC-LCIA Rules; (ii) the governing law of its contract or (iii) the Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York 1958) (NYC).
In summary, the DIFC Court found that the Cassation Judgment:
ZZZ (in its capacity as Hotel Operator) and YYY (in its capacity as Hotel Owner) entered into a 30-year hotel management agreement in respect of the Hotel on September 8, 2013 (the HMA). The HMA contained an arbitration agreement which provided for a DIFC-LCIA, DIFC seated arbitration. The governing law of the HMA was English Law.
ZZZ obtained an ex parte injunction on June 22, 2017 on the basis that YYY unlawfully terminated the HMA (the Injunction). The injunction remained in force as at the date of the Cassation Judgment.
Following the Cassation Judgment, YYY successfully obtained an enforcement order dated February 3, 2019 for the recognition of the Cassation Judgment pursuant to Rule 45 of the DIFC Court Rules (RDC) (the Enforcement Order).
Two related applications were before the DIFC Court:
Ultimately, the Hotel Operator was successful with the DIFC Court:
This is a critical decision of the DIFC Court and each and every practitioner within the Emirate should familiarise themselves with it. Set out below are the key takeaways:
Article II.3 provides that:
“The court of a Contracting State, when seized of an action in a matter in respect of which the parties have made an agreement within the meaning of this article, shall, at the request of one of the parties, refer the parties to arbitration, unless it finds that the said agreement is null and void, inoperative or incapable of being performed.”
Publication
On 1 July 2025, the Quoted Companies Alliance (QCA) published three new board committee guides to accompany the QCA Environmental and Social Guide published in December 2024.
Publication
In the two years since our last climate litigation update, the prevalence and variety of global climate litigation around the world has continued to increase.
Publication
Selon un rapport conjoint du Bureau du surintendant des institutions financières (BSIF) et de l’Agence de la consommation en matière financière du Canada (ACFC), environ 70 % des institutions financières fédérales prévoient utiliser l’IA d’ici 2026 .
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