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The Legal Affairs Department enhances its role in mediation to settle disputes through alternatives to litigation

18 July 2024

The Emirate of Dubai, and the UAE in general, has been keen to establish a flexible legal system that establishes, through its tools and legislation, the rule of law and upholds the values of expeditious justice, and at the same time ensures the provision of all means that enhance the resolution of disputes between litigants through alternatives to litigation. This includes a consensual means of resolving disputes through impartial, professional mediation between litigants in accordance with legal procedures.

Ambitious Project

In line with the approach of the Government of Dubai, the Government of Dubai Legal Affairs Department has made a priority to support all alternatives to litigation. Since 2022, it has launched an ambitious, multi-pronged and multi-stage project aimed at enhancing mediation in resolving civil and commercial disputes in the Emirate of Dubai, through an effective partnership with the European Center (ADR Center) which specializes in mediation.

Project themes included developing the capabilities of the Department's human cadres in mediation skills, raising the efficiency of its procedures in accordance with international best practices, sharing its expertise, and building the capabilities of Government entities, the legal community, and the financial and business community in the field of mediation in civil and commercial disputes. Themes also included raising community awareness on the importance and how to use mediation as an effective means of resolving disputes in light of the existing legal system, which paves the way for an integrated practical framework that keeps pace with legislative and global developments and achieves the goals set by the Emirate of Dubai.

Training and Qualification Programs

In light of the remarkable success of the program, the Department, in cooperation with its international partner, the European Center (ADR Center), organized six batches of the practical training program on mediation skills in civil and commercial disputes, internationally accredited by the International Mediation Institute, and which was conducted in English and for the first time in the world in Arabic as well.

More than (168) trainees benefited from the program, including (86) employees from Government entities in the Emirate of Dubai, which enhances the central role of the Department in raising awareness about legal skills related to government approach. The program also saw the participation of (23) legal practitioners from Advocacy and Legal Consultancy Firms registered with the Department. This initiative stems from the Department's keenness to fulfill its role in developing the skills in this vital sector, which contributes to creating the appropriate climate to resort to mediation as an alternative to litigation, and encourage businesses and investors to use mediation. The last batch of the program saw the participation of trainees from the financial and business sectors.

Distinctive Qualification

The number trainees who passed the qualification in mediation skills, according to the standards of the International Mediation Institute (IMI), was (144), including (53) among Department's employees, and (13) of them received the highest accreditation offered by this Institution based on accumulated experience through the completion of (200) hours in mediation or (20) disputes, and obtained international accreditation as mediators in civil and commercial disputes after undergoing evaluation by a group of international experts in the field.

The Department is the only entity in the Arab region and North Africa that boasts this number of mediators who have obtained the basic accreditation and the international accreditation in the highest professional mediation. The Department is also the only entity in the world that has Arabic-speaking team, holding this international accreditation, in addition, to the certified mediators who speak five other languages.

Awareness

The Department's role was not restricted to concluding international partnerships and conducting training programs that support its capabilities and those of Government entities. Rather, the Department raised awareness on the importance of mediation, and encouraged applying it in resolving disputes. The Department also organized two workshops targeting the legal community, which was attended by more than (600) legal professionals. Those workshops addressed the nature of mediation and its importance as one of the means of resolving disputes that provides flexibility and effectiveness in settling disputes amicably, in addition to saving time and expenses.

The two workshops conducted by the Department also shed light on the legislative framework regulating mediation in the UAE, as the legislator, within the framework of these efforts, issued Federal Law No. (6) of 2021 on Mediation to settle civil and commercial disputes, which was replaced by Federal Decree Law. No. (40) of 2023 on Mediation and Conciliation in Civil and Commercial Disputes.

International Events

As part of its efforts to enhance its knowledge in the field of mediation, through exchanging knowledge and learning about regional and international best practices, in addition to sharing its experience in this regard, the Department participated as a keynote speaker in an international conference held in Dubai in March 2023. The conference was organized by the American Weinstein Foundation, a non-profit organization concerned with promoting the practice of mediation worldwide. Speakers discussed ways to foster the culture of mediation in disputes and consolidate cooperation to develop its practices.

The Department also participated as a keynote speaker in the sessions of the “Towards a Participatory Environment for Dispute Resolution" Forum, which was organized by the Ministry of Finance to encourage a participatory environment for resolving disputes, and to strengthen regulatory frameworks that enhance cooperation between the public and private sectors to develop the skills and practices of alternative solutions to litigation in an effective and innovative manner. In this forum, the Department showcased its practice in resolving disputes in which the Government or Government entities are a party using mediation skills, and highlighted the remarkable success it achieved using that method, as well as the Department's efforts in training, developing and qualifying local Government entities to benefit from those skills, in line with the directions of the Government of Dubai in its endeavor to become a global hub for resolving disputes through alternative methods to litigation.

Benchmarking

The Department's keenness to participate in international events and exchange experiences is translated by conducting comparisons to determine the consistency of the Department's procedures with the best international practices followed in the field of mediation in dispute resolution. The Department conducts a benchmarking comparison of its internal operations in which mediation is used in disputes with the (ADR) Center. The Deparmtnet also initiated benchmarking with the International Mediation Institution (IMI), in addition to its participation in the Executive Benchmarking Program sponsored by the Dubai Government Excellence Program to conduct benchmarking for one of the project's themes, in preparation for benefiting from comparative experiences in providing a practical framework capable of enabling the practice of mediation in civil and commercial disputes in the Emirate of Dubai in accordance with international best practices by the end of this year.

Through these comparisons, the Department aims to be open to distinguished experiences and the continuity of institutional learning that ensures the development of procedures and practices, and to measure their impact through the results intended to be achieved, in accordance with the requirements of quality performance, which achieves global competitiveness, one of the foundations of government work in the Emirate of Dubai, and an important vehicle in achieving leadership. The fruit of this lies in the successful use of mediation practices in resolving disputes and the provision of distinguished government legal services.

Disputes and Figures

The Department explained that there are many disputes in which it played the role of mediator, and which ended by resolving the dispute amicably without resorting to litigation or arbitration. Those disputes involved infrastructure projects, real estate development of lands and flats, construction and contracting projects, and IT contracts, intellectual property, commercial disputes of an international nature, and other fields. The Department achieved positive results that increased the demand for such services, which reflects its professionalism and excellence in mediation.

The value of the disputes in which the Department used mediation exceeded (3) billion UAE dirhams, during the year 2023 and until the end of June 2024. This reflects the effectiveness of adopting mediation and its importance for parties to the conflict.

Flexibility and Effectiveness

His Excellency Dr. Lowai Mohamed Belhoul, Director General of the Department, stated the Department has made a priority of enabling alternative methods to litigation in disputes that fall within the scope of its jurisdiction, in order to contribute to the plans and directions of the Government of Dubai. The Department adopted a mechanism that enables mediation in resolving disputes, through an integrated and flexible legal system that guarantees rights and creates a legal environment consistent with Dubai's global investment status.

His Excellency Dr. Belhoul noted that the Department adopted, since 2022, a mediation project based on clear objectives within a specific timeline, starting with developing its human capabilities through strategic partnerships and acquiring expertise that is consistent with the international best practices, and contributing to building the capabilities of legal practitioners and legal professionals working at Government entities, by developing a professional training courses compatible with the culture and language of society, and working to find the best options for qualifying and obtaining international accreditation, in order to achieve a professional practice of mediation in the Emirate of Dubai. Parallel to this is raising awareness among community members of the importance of mediation in resolving civil and commercial disputes as one of the effective alternatives to litigation, which meets the vision of the wise leadership, and the directives of the Government of Dubai in building capabilities, consolidating partnerships, and exchanging experiences to provide a flexible and effective environment that supports Dubai international's image in the investment sector in particular and various sectors in general.

His Excellency Dr. Belhoul stressed the fundamental role that mediation plays in resolving disputes, by saving the time and expediting the resolution of disputes compared to the time taken in litigation or arbitration, as well as saving costs that the two parties may spend on attorney fees, court fees, and other associated costs, and providing various solutions to disputes that extend beyond financial gains to include deals and partnerships among litigants. His Excellency also hailed the importance of mediation in maintaining relations between the two parties to the dispute to continue their cooperation, which reflects positively on the happiness of the parties.

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