Dubai announces its plan to streamline the enforcement of civil judgments and arbitral awards

On 22 February 2023, the Government of Dubai announced a new set of measures for the Dubai Courts with the aim of making the enforcement of civil judgments and arbitration awards easier.

The measures include the following:

• The privatisation of execution procedures: following an earlier rationalisation of the enforcement process in Civil Law No. (42) of 2022, the Dubai Courts will license private companies to provide judgment and award enforcement services, no longer reserving to the Dubai Courts the tasks of enforcement such as serving documents and corresponding with judgment and award debtors’ banks.
• The introduction of an electronic writ of execution seal: court judgments will be electronically sealed for enforcement without requiring the physical movement of documents through the Dubai Courts’ administrative processes.
• The deployment of “smart requests”:  judgment and award creditors will be able to communicate with the enforcement judge and officials online.
• The roll-out of an electronic financial disclosure platform to enable all authorities and officials involved in the enforcement of a judgment or award to be notified about the funds and assets of the relevant debtor(s).
• The creation of a sale notification system for notifying officials in charge of the enforcement of a judgment or award about items confiscated from the judgment or award debtor so that they can be sold within a specified time frame.
• Better integration with the UAE Ministry of Interior to improve enforcement with the help of national and local police and security departments.