Foreign court judgments issued outside the UAE may be enforced in the UAE.

These judgments may be enforced in the UAE on-shore courts either pursuant to: (a) the Civil Procedure Law; or (b) bilateral or multilateral treaty executed between UAE and the other country.

Process under the Civil Procedure Law

The process for enforcement of a foreign court judgement in the UAE is set out in Article 85 of the Cabinet Decision No. 57/2018 On the Regulation of Federal Law No. 11/1992 on the Civil Procedure (Civil Procedure Regulations).

According to Article 85(1) of the Civil Procedure Regulations, judgments delivered by a foreign country may be enforced in the UAE on the same conditions as prescribed in the law of that country for enforcement of judgments issued in the UAE.

Broadly, the steps to be followed to enforce a foreign court order is set out below.

1. Filing Petition: Firstly, a petition will have to be filed by the concerned person with the execution judge in accordance with Article 85(2) of the Civil Procedure Regulations.

The petition should contain all the relevant details, as required under 16 of the Civil Procedure Regulations. These include details of the applicant, such as: name, identification document, profession, occupation, domicile, contact details, etc. The petition should also contain similar details of the defendant. It should also include the name of the court before which the lawsuit is filed, date of filing the petition, subject matter, demands and grounds thereof and the signature of the applicant.

2. Verification by the Judge:

The judge will verify the following before he passes any order for enforcement of a judgment.

1. The Courts of the State are not exclusively competent in the dispute in which the judgment or order was rendered and the foreign Courts that issued it are competent in accordance with the rules of international jurisdiction established by their law.

2. The judgment or order is issued by a Court in accordance with the law of the country in which it was issued and duly ratified.

3. The litigants in the case in which the foreign judgment was delivered were summoned and were duly represented.

4. The judgment or order has the force of res judicata in accordance with the law of the Court issuing it, provided that the judgment has acquired the force of res judicata or provided for in the same judgment.

5. The judgment does not conflict with a judgment or order rendered by a Court of the State and does not contain anything contrary to public order or morals.

The enforcement judge shall have the right to obtain the documents supporting the application before issuing his decision.

3. Decision of the judge

The judge will issue his order within five days from the date of the submission of the petition. The order of the judge may be appealed in accordance with the rules and procedures prescribed for filing an appeal.

Treaties or Conventions

Having said the above, it should be noted that in the event there is an existing treaty between the UAE and the country of which the judgment is to be enforced in the UAE, the provisions of such treaty will apply. UAE has entered into such bilateral agreements with several countries to ease the enforcement procedure of foreign judgments in the UAE.

This has been set out in Article 88 of the Civil Procedure Regulations, which states as follows.

“The rules provided for in this chapter shall not prejudice the provisions of treaties and agreements between the State and other States concerning the enforcement of foreign judgments, orders and bonds.”