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15 June 2018 / Leonora Riesenburg
Issue: 7797 / Categories: Features , Profession , Arbitration , ADR
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A new law, a new landscape

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The UAE has welcomed a new Federal Arbitration Law. Leonora Riesenburg provides the details

  • Arbitration agreement, validity and performance.
  • Scope of application.
  • Rebalancing of powers in favour of tribunals.
  • Award issuance, recognition and enforcement.

On 3 May 2018, by Federal Law No. 6 of 2018, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) issued a new self-standing arbitration law (the New Arbitration Law). Influenced by UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration 1985 (as amended in 2006), the New Arbitration Law comes 12 years following Federal Decree No. 43 of 2006 pursuant to which the UAE acceded to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards 1958, and will come into effect one month after its publication in the Official Gazette.

Scope of application

The new law applies to:

  1. all local arbitrations in the UAE for which parties have not elected an alternate governing law (Art 2(1));
  2. international commercial arbitrations conducted abroad for which parties have agreed to apply the law (Art 2(2)); and
  3. any arbitrations
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