Recent Amendments to Civil Procedures Law in UAE

Recent amendments in Civil Procedures Law (Federal Law number 11 of 1992) has gained so much attention before the litigants in the country. The recent amendment by virtue of Cabinet Resolution number 33 of 2020 has tweaked the provisions of Cabinet Resolution of 57 of 2018 issued by the government recently. Civil Lawyers of Dubai have witnessed significant changes in the recent amendments that has particularly changed the procedures for conducting civil proceedings in the country.

The said article will briefly discuss the pertinent changes in the Law to enlighten our readers about the new procedures in civil courts:

• Additional powers of CMO (Case Management Officer) The position for CMO were created to ease the litigation procedures, wherein, parties will completely disclose their case before it is further referred to the judge. Under the provisions of the new Resolution, the parties will be given an opportunity to resolve their dispute before the CMO rather than submitting the matter to the court.
• Change the way summons are served

As opposed to the previous amendment, the parties and their attorneys were allowed to serve summons to the other party even through the online platform. However, with 2020 amendments, the parties or their attorneys are not allowed to serve summons through social media and that authority is only granted to the courts.

• A new look to the payment orders

One of the more noteworthy changes that the Regulations presented was the expanding the accessibility of payment orders, which was recently restricted to debts emerging out of certain business instruments, to incorporate obligations which are affirmed recorded in writing.

• The powers of Minor Circuit courts
• The new Regulations gives that civil, commercial and employment cases of not more than AED 500,000 in worth and cases testing the legitimacy of signatures are to be heard by the minor circuit of the court and to be finished in one hearing. This meeting must be fixed by the CMO within 15 days of the case being enrolled. A further 15-day expansion might be given by the administrative appointed authority of the CMO, yet no further augmentations are allowed. Minor circuit courts may now hear disputes up to AED 10 million in esteem. The purview of the minor circuit court used to be AED 1 million. In addition, the disputes underneath the claim amount of AED 50,000, the judgment of the minor circuit is conclusive and authoritative.
• Prerequisites for applying travel ban

The new Resolution requires the claimant filing an application for travel ban shall fulfil the following criteria allowing the judge to issue an adequate order, which are as follows:

1. The amount of the debt should be specified and should be above AED 10,000
2. The claimant should be strongly apprehended that the debtor will leave the country
3. The claimant should be able to establish the outstanding debt through documentary evidence
4. The claimant shall submit a guarantee before the court in the event the court later find out that the application for travel ban so submitted is wrongful.

The recent amendments in the civil procedure law has amended several procedures being utilised by court since the issuance of the federal civil procedures law. Therefore, the change should be fully acknowledged by Civil Lawyers of Dubai for further proceedings filed before the relevant courts.

Dr. Hassan Elhais is a legal consultant in Dubai, specializing in the drafting of all statements of claim, memos and consultation on litigation of all manner.