4 Major Differences Between Litigation and Arbitration

Before setting forth the differences between arbitration and litigation, it is essential to touch upon the basics of each dispute resolution method. Litigation is considered as the standard dispute resolution method. The UAE is a federation of seven Emirates and each has Court of First Instance and Court of Appeal.

The UAE is a civil law country where the constitution and the regulatios are the primary sources of the law. It is ideal to find a professional lawyer for knowing more about litigation & arbitration ( https://uaeahead.com/litigation-arbitration ) and solving any issues regarding these. Arbitration constitutes the agreement to two parties in a civil dispute for seeking its resolution through arbitration instead of the normal dispute resolution method, which is litigation. There are several arbitration centres in the UAE and Dubai including the Dubai International Financial Centre Arbitration Centre (DIFC-LCIA) and the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC). Here are some main differences between arbitration and litigation and they are the following:

1. Timeframe

One of the main differences between litigation and arbitration is that the later allows each party to a dispute to appeal any judgement rendered by a local court. And the option to appeal a judgment is not only granted to the party that received an unfavourable judgment, but also to the party that received a favourable judgment, in case they are not satisfied with the outcome. While once an arbitral award is rendered by the arbitral tribunal chosen by the parties, the party may not challenge its merits. Choosing between arbitration and litigation can be influenced by whether the parties to a written transaction wish to have the option to appeal judgments or not.

2. Influence of The Proceedings

The influence of the proceeding is another distinct difference between arbitration and litigation is that the parties to a dispute have major influence over arbitration proceedings however they hardly have any influence in litigation.

It is probable for the parties in arbitration cases to choose their arbitrator. Generally, arbitrator cases are handled by a tribunal of one or three arbitrators and the parties to an agreement may decide on this therein. On the other hand, litigation parties do not have the authority to appoint judges. And a party in a lawsuit may under assured circumstances, however, demand the change of the judge resolving the said lawsuit.

3. Privacy

With consider of privacy, it would be clearly beneficial to choose arbitration over litigation, because arbitration proceedings are usually conducted completely in private and all documents pertaining to the arbitration stay confidential. Litigation procedures form part of the public record. So, if keeping a potential dispute private is of considerable importance to the parties to an agreement, then it would be best to choose arbitration as the dispute resolution method.

4. Language

Based on the rules of the chosen arbitration centres, arbitrator proceedings can be conducted in any language selected by the parties to an agreement. In this consider, both the DIFC- LCIA and DIAC permit this. However, litigation procedures in the UAE must be conducted in Arabic only. Also, any document submitted to the local courts must be in Arabic. If it is not, then it must be translated into Arabic by a permitted translation office.

Conclusion:

Choosing between arbitration and litigation comes down to whichever judgment or award would be enforceable in a potential dispute. You can take the help of a professional law firm for choosing between litigation & arbitration according to your needs because it is necessary to seek the advice of a competent UAE lawyer before taking any decision.