Thomas Snider, Dalal Alhouti and Aishwarya Nair write for Global Arbitration Review on a recent UAE ruling that standardises arbitral award signatures

Thomas Snider, Partner, Head of International Arbitration, Dalal Alhouti , Knowledge Counsel, and Aishwarya Nair,  Associate, report on a recent ruling by a UAE federal judicial body resolving inconsistent approaches by the different emirates as to whether arbitral awards must be signed on every page. 

For many years there has been an inconsistency between the different emirates in the UAE as to whether UAE arbitral law or public policy requires an arbitral award to be signed on every page or just the final page. Signing every page is often no small matter, since awards can run to hundreds of pages and at least three copies will have to be issued (more if there are multiple parties), meaning that arbitrators would sometimes have to take many hours signing hundreds of pages to ensure the award would not be invalidated for lack of a signature.

This issue has been referred to the UAE Federal and Local Judicial Principles Unification Authority and has now been settled – awards only need to be signed on the last page. This brings UAE arbitral practice in line with international norms and is a practical and welcomed development.

In an article for Global Arbitration Review, they address how the issue arose in the first place and what the judgment means for the future of arbitration in the UAE.

This is a much-needed development. Arbitrations can take years and incur significant costs, so having the award nullified simply because it was not signed on every page seemed disproportionate and undermined confidence in the UAE arbitral process. Removing this risk is therefore to be welcomed. The judgment reaffirms the UAE’s pro-arbitration stance and eliminates scope for uncertainty around judicial treatment of arbitral awards in and across the UAE. 

Read the full piece in Global Arbitration Review here.