Arbitration vs. Litigation: Which is Right for Your Dispute?
It is a truism that parties in business benefit from the efficient settlement of disputes. Contractual parties generally have two
February 27, 2025
Bolz Arbitration
Bolz Arbitration was founded in Dubai in 2009 by Anja Bolz.
Bolz Arbitration offers accredited and experienced independent arbitration services to individuals and companies internationally and in the MENA region.
Bolz Arbitration specialises in corporate, commercial, joint venture, shareholder, partnership, family business, construction and real estate disputes and brings a commercial and practical approach to arbitration disputes to ensure an efficient and equitable process and outcome for parties.
Anja Bolz
Anja is an accredited and experienced international chartered arbitrator, offering tailored arbitration services internationally and in the MENA region
Anja holds a Bachelor and Masters degree from Cambridge University as well as a Masters in Business. With over 17 years of regional legal and ADR experience, Anja specialises in resolving corporate, commercial, construction and real estate, joint venture, shareholder, partnership and family business disputes through arbitration.
Anja is a member of the Steering Committee of the ICC UAE Commission on Arbitration and ADR and is a UAE delegate to the ICC Global Commission on Arbitration and ADR.
She is a Chartered Arbitrator at the prestigious Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and may use the designation C.Arb.
Anja is a regular speaker at international and regional arbitration conferences.
Anja Bolz is admitted to the Panel of Arbitrators of the following Arbitration Institutes:
❖ Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Presidential Panel
❖ Abu Dhabi International Arbitration Centre (ArbitrateAD)
❖ Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC)
❖ International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
❖ Abu Dhabi ADGM Arbitration Centre (ADGMAC)
❖ London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA)
❖ Asian Institute of Alternative Dispute Resolution (AIADR)
❖ Saudi Centre for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA)
❖ Abu Dhabi Commercial Conciliation and Arbitration Centre (ADCCAC)
❖ Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) (List)
❖ Oman Commercial Arbitration Centre (OCAC)
ANJA BOLZ
Independent Chartered Arbitrator
Anja sits as an arbitrator on a range of international and regional construction, real estate, corporate and corporate, commercial and family business disputes.
Dubai Arbitration Week 2024: Shaping the Future
Dubai Arbitration Week (DAW) is an annual event that brings the UAE’s vibrant arbitration community together with leading global practitioners including arbitrators, lawyers, and experts.
Through engaging discussions and debates, DAW highlights the pivotal role in shaping the future of arbitration in UAE and the broader Middle East. It highlights the central role of arbitration in resolving all types of disputes including financial, banking, insurance, commercial, construction, real estate, and corporate disputes across the MENA region. The UAE’s arbitration ecosystem is distinct, featuring the Abu Dhabi Global Market Arbitration Centre (ADGMAC) as an offshore hub which complements the traditional onshore arbitration centers in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and other Emirates including the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) and the Abu Dhabi International Arbitration Centre (arbitrateAD). Since its inception, DAW has rapidly expanded and become one of the largest and most influential arbitration events globally. With over 140 events planned for 2024, this year’s DAW (taking place from 11-15 November 2024) is set to be the largest version to date. The full calendar for Dubai Arbitration Week 2024 is now available at https://dubaiarbitrationweek.com
Impact of Dubai Arbitration Week 2024
Arbitration is a preferred method of resolving commercial disputes in the UAE, offering efficiency, confidentiality, and expertise in resolving complex matters.
It provides a neutral platform, reduces court backlogs, and ensures enforceable outcomes which is crucial for international businesses operating in the UAE and in the broader MENA region.
Dubai Arbitration Week 2024 is a blue riband event that brings together global experts, offering invaluable networking opportunities, insights into emerging trends, and access to best practices in arbitration.
Attending DAW is essential for legal professionals seeking to stay ahead in the field, enhance their expertise, and connect with industry leaders.
Guidelines for Dubai Arbitration Week 2024
DAW is organised by a committee of volunteers from the UAE’s arbitration community who represent the interests of the local community and who promote international arbitration and ADR as peaceful means of dispute resolution. Due to the high demand from participating law firms and institutions in 2023, and based on feedback regarding the number of events held, the Organising Committee established new guidelines for the edition of Dubai Arbitration Week 2024 (DAW) limiting the number of events per time slot to three.
However, there are many social events and opportunities for networking throughout the week including the DALDS and the Bin Sevan Annual Jazz dinner on Tuesday 12 November 2024.
DAW Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony will take place on the evening of Monday 11 November 2024 from 7pm onwards. All events taking place on that day will end by 6pm. Last year’s event was spectacular and attended by over 1000 delegates and this year’s ceremony promises to launch DAW 2024 in similarly excellent style.
Number of events per firm/institution
Given the volume of demand, each firm or institution has been permitted to advertise one event during DAW 2024. In order to manage the schedule, events were limited to three per daily time slot.
Sponsorship
The Diamond Sponsor for the event is HKA whilst Platinum Sponsors Aikyam Law Offices and Innovative Management are joined by Gold Sponsors including Hadef and Partners.
Bolz Arbitration
Bolz Arbitration was founded in Dubai in 2009 by Anja Bolz. Anja is an accredited and experienced international chartered arbitrator, offering tailored arbitration services internationally and in the MENA region. To arrange a meeting during DAW. Contact Us
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NEWS ARTICLE – FEBRUARY 21 2025
DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Clause Held Enforceable following Dubai Decree No. 34 of 2021
The US Court of Appeal recently reversed a 2023 decision of the the US District Court of Louisiana 2023 decision in Baker Hughes Saudi Arabia Co. Ltd. v. Dynamic Industries Saudi Arabia, Ltd. The case follows the dissolution of the joint venture between the DIFC in Dubai and the LCIA in London by way of Dubai Decree No. 34 of 2021 with the DIFC-LCIA replaced by DIAC. The Decree provided that DIFC-LCIA arbitration clauses executed prior to the Decree were deemed valid but would be administered through DIAC (or under transition arrangements where cases were already in progress).
The Decree has been tested in local and international courts with the Baker Hughes ruling being an example of a case in which the District Court held the DIFC-LCIA arbitration clause agreed between the parties to be unenforceable.
The reversal by the Court of Appeal confirmed however, that DIFC-LCIA arbitration clauses are enforceable – in this case noting that the disputing parties had not agreed on the DIFC-LCIA as an exclusive forum for their dispute.
Review of 2024
The MENA region experienced significant advancements in the international dispute resolution space with the launch of the new Abu Dhabi International Arbitration Centre; the publication of new arbitration rules by both the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration and the Qatar International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration and the signing of a bilateral treaty establishing a new international commercial court by Singapore and Bahrain. MENA courts around the region made increasing numbers of positive arbitration decisions which, together with legislative amendments to institutional expansion and several key jurisprudential developments meant that the region continued to grow as a global hub for international dispute resolution.
Some of the key highlights as selected by Kluwer are summarised below.
Institutional Arbitration
2024 marked an important milestone for institutional arbitration in the MENA region. As the ripple effect of Dubai’s Decree No. 34/2021 continued to spread, Abu Dhabi established a new Abu Dhabi International Arbitration Centre which is branded as arbitrateAD. ArbitrateAD is effectively a reorganisation of the Abu Dhabi Commercial Conciliation and Arbitration Centre and offers a new set of arbitration rules; a new court of arbitration and a new secretariat.
The Qatar International Centre for Conciliation and Arbitration announced the launch of a new set of arbitration rules which introduce a strengthened and comprehensive set of procedural provisions. The 2024 QICCA Rules entered into force on 1 January 2025.
On 6 March 2024, the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration and the ICSID signed a cooperation agreement ‘to jointly support the use of arbitration, mediation, and other dispute resolution tools to resolve international investment and commercial disputes’. The agreement allows parties in ICSID proceedings to hold hearings at the SCCA.
Jurisprudence
Fake Awards
2024 started with an unusual judgment from the London Commercial Court in which it overturned the enforcement of a GBP 70 million award after discovering that there was, in fact, no arbitration agreement, no arbitration had taken place, and the award itself had been fabricated.
Recovery of Legal Fees
On 5 February 2024, the Dubai Court of Cassation issued a heavily-criticised decision which upheld an earlier judgment of the Dubai Court of Appeal that set aside an arbitration award issued under the ICC Rules 2021. The Dubai Court of Cassation Court ruled that the tribunal exceeded its jurisdiction by awarding legal fees, holding that neither the ICC Rules nor the UAE Federal Arbitration Law granted the tribunal the authority to do so.
The judgement was overturned on on 15 November 2024, when the Dubai Court of Cassation departed from its prior position and confirmed that the ICC Rules entitle the arbitral tribunal to award legal costs, including costs paid by a party to its legal representatives (Case No. 756/2024 (Commercial).
Enforceability of Interim Awards
On 22 March 2024, the DIFC Court of Appeal confirmed the enforceability of a provisional award ordering interim relief where the seat of the arbitration was not the DIFC. The case concerned a London-seated arbitration under the Dubai International Arbitration Centre Rules 2022. The DIFC Court of Appeal considered that the ordinary understanding of an ‘award’ included partial, interim and final awards. Accordingly, the DIFC Court of Appeal held that the consistent use of award to describe both interim and final awards throughout the the DIFC Arbitration Law 1 of 2008 meant that there was no reason in principle why interim awards should not be treated as an award for the purposes of enforcement.
NEWS ARTICLE – JANUARY 27 2025
Certainty for the Recovery of Legal Costs Under ICC Rules
A recent decision of the Dubai Court of Cassation in Case 756/2024 has brought clarity to the question of the recoverability of legal fees in ICC Rules arbitrations under the ICC Rules.
Previously, in Case 821/2023, the Court of Cassation ruled against the enforcement of legal fees awarded in ICC arbitrations, citing the lack of an explicit reference to legal fees in Article 38(1) of the Rules. The concerns of practitioners have been allayed by the reversal brought by Case 756/2024 which was determined in November 2024 in which theCourt confirmed that the wording of Article 38(1), which includes a reference to ‘reasonable legal and other costs’ is broad enough to encompass legal fees. This interpretation aligns with international arbitration norms and affirms the principle of pacta sunt servanda i.e. it upholds the agreement of the parties in agreeing to arbitration under the ICC Rules.
NEWS ARTICLE – JANUARY 15 2025
New Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) Table of Fees and Costs Effective 1 January 2025
The Table of Fees and Costs of the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), which has has been in place for more than 13 years has been revised. A link to the new Table of Fees and Costs which came into effect on 1 January 2025 is provided below.
This new Table of Fees and Costs is part of DIAC’s ongoing efforts to provide efficient and cost-effective dispute resolution services and to reinforce its position as a leading arbitration center in the region.
Alternative Dispute Resolution: A Path to Efficient and Effective Conflict Resolution
Disputes have always been a part of commercial and personal interactions. The keys to business success and continuity lie in the prompt and effective resolution of disputes through agreed conflict resolution mechanisms.
Litigation is the traditional adversarial path through formal court proceedings. In choosing to resolve their disputes through litigation, parties run the risk of high costs; lengthy processes and often find that the adversarial nature of litigation makes maintaining an effective ongoing business relationship difficult once a dispute has been judged. This makes alternative dispute resolution (ADR) a more attractive option.
ADR offers a range of efficient and flexible approaches to dispute resolution ranging from mediation through adjudication to arbitration. Over recent decades, the UAE has established itself as a hub for ADR. It offers a robust legal framework which supports the enforcement of ADR determinations whilst several regional institutions assist parties with the procedural aspects of ADR throughout the process.
What is Alternative Dispute Resolution?
ADR is a wide range of mechanisms available to parties to resolve disputes outside the traditional court system. These mechanisms allow parties to discuss,tailor and agree on the most suitable dispute resolution mechanism contracutally and in advance thereby promotingh cost-effective, efficient and confidential outcomes.
The Key ADR Mechanisms
Negotiation: Negotiation allows parties to resolve disputes through dialogue but is predicated on a willingness on the part of both parties to compromise. This is often the first step in any dispute resolution process.
Mediation: In mediation, a neutral mediator will facilitate discussions between the parties with the aim of guiding a collaborative approach to finding a mutually acceptable resolution of a given conflict. Mediation is often chosen where an ongoing business relationship is envisaged as the method encourages collaboration over confrontation.
Arbitration: In arbitration a neutral third party individual or a tribunal nominated by the parties and appointed by the regulating institution will deliver a binding and legally enforceable award based on the evidence and arguments presented. This method is especially common in commercial and international disputes, offering a structured yet private alternative to court proceedings.
Why ADR
ADR offers several key advantages to parties:
Cost Efficiency: ADR is often cheaper than litigation.
Procedural Efficiency: ADR processes can be expedited by agreement and may reach resolution within months rather than years.
Confidentiality: ADR proceedings are private and confidential thereby ensuring that sensitive information remains protected and out of the public domain.
Flexibility: Parties to ADR generally control the dispute resolution process and this may include the right to choose an arbitrator and to agree a procedural timeline and the applicable procedural rules.
Business Continuity: Collaborative ADR mechanisms can help maintain positive working relationships and support ongoing commercial partnerships.
ADR in the UAE
The UAE is well-established itself as a global leader in ADR through progressive developments in arbitration and mediation. The Federal Arbitration Law (2018) governs domestic and international arbitration, incorporating principles from the UNCITRAL Model Law. It provides clarity on critical aspects such as the enforcement of awards and the conduct of arbitration proceedings and aligns the UAE’s arbitration framework with international standards and reinforced the enforceability of awards under the New York Convention.
The introduction of the DIAC Rules 2022 expedited arbitration procedures and the introduction of and specialised digital courts confirm the UAE’s commitment to a cutting-edge modern ADR infrastructure.
The enactment of the Mediation Law in provides a robust parallel framework for the cooperative resolution of disputes which is further supported by centres including the DIFC-LCIA Mediation Centre and the Mediation Hub.
These legislative and structual reforms described confirm the strategic vision of the UAE to provide efficient, technology-driven and globally competitive dispute resolution services and will position the jurisdiction as a as a leading hub for ADR in both the Middle East and in international markets.
Arbitration in the UAE - Key Consideration
A key factor in, and advantage of, arbitration in the UAE is the selection of the right arbitrator for nomination and subsequent appointment in proceedings.
The selection of an arbitrator is one of the most important decisions made in an arbitration. Parties often ask what factors to consider and how to find information that may assist them in assessing a candidate for nomination to a Tribunal.
Parties consider numerous factors in selecting an arbitrator for a dispute. Among the most important are:
- the expertise of the arbitrator in the sector in which the dispute arises;
- the arbitrator's experience in arbitration in the region an in particular with DIAC or other regional institutions;
- the arbitrator's experience in the subject matter or specific area of law raised by the case;
- language capability, including the ability to read documents relevant to the proceeding, the ability to communicate with counsel and the parties, witnesses and experts, and the capacity to write clear reasons for decisions and awards;
- an absence of conflict of interest, and full disclosure of any matter that might be relevant to assessing potential conflicts. It should be remembered that party-appointed arbitrators are not advocates of the position of the party that appointed them and they must remain independent and impartial at all times;
- ability to work well with the other Tribunal members; and
- availability to address the case expeditiously, including the capacity to travel to hearings and to issue rulings in short order.
Parties and their counsel consider a wide variety of sources when selecting a potential arbitrator. These include:
- the arbitrator's curriculum vitae, and in particular their education and work experience;
- decisions and awards issued by the arbitrator; and
- the views of counsel who have appeared before the arbitrator under consideration.
Contact Bolz Arbitration for Effective Arbitration Advice in the MENA Region
Anja Bolz is an independent chartered arbitrator has been involved in arbitration cases in construction, real estate, and commercial disputes since 2009 across the MENA region and internationally.
For a consultation or more information on arbitration in the UAE, contact Bolz Arbitration today.
