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Clyde & Co detailed in a January 2026 insight two landmark 2025 rulings that aligned onshore UAE arbitration practices more closely with international benchmarks. The Dubai Court of Cassation upheld the exclusive authority of arbitral tribunals to issue anti-suit injunctions as interim measures during proceedings. The Federal and Local Judicial Principles Unification Authority meanwhile standardised requirements for signing arbitral awards to eliminate prior inconsistencies across emirates.
The Court of Cassation ruling arose in Commercial Appeal No. 657 of 2025 concerning an ICC-seated arbitration under a memorandum of understanding. It reversed a Court of Appeal decision that had annulled the tribunal’s anti-suit injunction restraining parallel litigation. The court grounded its holding in Article 21 of Federal Law No. 6 of 2018 which authorises tribunals to order any measure preventing harm or prejudice to the arbitral process itself.
Clyde & Co reported that the tribunal’s authority under Article 21(e) remains exclusive throughout the arbitration with modification possible only upon application to the tribunal. The respondent had argued the injunction impaired its general right to litigate but the court found the order narrowly confined to disputes linked to the arbitration agreement. This approach prevents premature judicial interference and mirrors standards in leading international arbitration frameworks.
The Judicial Principles Unification Authority issued Decision No. 1 of 2025 to resolve divergent interpretations of Article 41 of the Federal Arbitration Law concerning award signatures. The authority abandoned the stricter Dubai practice that had required every page to bear a signature on pain of annulment for public policy violation. It adopted instead the pragmatic stance from Ras Al Khaimah and Abu Dhabi courts that a signature on the final page by the majority of arbitrators suffices.
The authority stated that it decided to abandon the principle established by the Dubai Court of Cassation (requiring signatures on all pages) and adopt the principle of the Ras Al Khaimah Court of Cassation (signing the last page is sufficient). Clyde & Co noted the change reduces technical challenges to enforcement and brings UAE practice into line with the 1958 New York Convention. The Unification Authority created in 2019 exists precisely to harmonise such judicial principles across the federation.
ICC preliminary 2025 dispute resolution statistics place the UAE among the top 10 jurisdictions selected for arbitration while 2024 data had already elevated the country to fifth globally as a preferred seat. Separate legal briefings from early 2026 confirm that the pair of rulings form part of a broader pro-arbitration trend in onshore courts that limits judicial interference and favours substance over excessive formalism. These developments coincide with sustained growth in regional arbitral institutions including DIAC which recorded hundreds of cases in recent years.
