Dubai, December 19: Dubai said on Thursday it has taken steps to speed up the regulation of lawsuits in the state-backed Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) free zone, in an attempt to improve the business environment in the emirate.
Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed al-Maktoum issued a decree giving DIFC a new statute “to settle disputes quickly, according to simple and well-defined procedures,” an official statement said.
The decree, which amends the 2004 statute in line with “the best practices in developing countries for settling disputes,” will also “help to improve investment conditions” in the emirate, it said.
The government announced on December 14 that it was setting up a special tribunal, based in the DIFC zone and led by a senior British judge, to deal with claims against its troubled Dubai World group.
Ratings agencies had downgraded several Dubai corporates after Dubai said on November 25 that it wanted to freeze debt repayments by Dubai World — liable for 59 billion dollars — in order to restructure the largest state-run company.
—Agencies