DIFC Courts Announce High Approval Ratings

by Lorys Charalambous, Tax-News.com, Cyprus

07 June 2011

The DIFC Courts, the Dubai International Financial Centre's independent, common law judicial system has received acclaim from the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for again receiving positive feedback on its operations.

Al Maktoum noted that the impressive results are a testament to the DIFC Courts' focus on customer services, which has been acknowledged by the legal community and Courts' users. DIFC Courts noted that it received excellent satisfaction feedback from its users, particularly in categories such as operation and workflow, methods of communication, events, lectures and employee satisfaction.

As part of the DIFC Courts’ business excellence initiatives, the Courts undertake an annual satisfaction survey to measure the level of satisfaction with the judicial services it provides and to ensure quality standards are maintained at the highest level. In its latest survey, undertaken in December 2010, 72% of respondents reported that their understanding of the DIFC Courts had improved over the year; 76% of respondents believed that the Courts had been more active; and the Courts received a 6% higher satisfaction rating, up to 72%, in terms of the management of operations and workflow.

Results from the previous year’s survey indicated that 100% of those independently surveyed would recommend the DIFC Courts to other users. Other excellence initiatives of the DIFC Courts include mystery shopping surveys, exit surveys upon visiting the Courts and employee engagement surveys; all part of the efforts by the Courts to adapt and improve based on continuous feedback from the community.

Throughout 2010 and 2011, the DIFC Courts have launched several new initiatives to improve its judicial offering, including the introduction of a web-based case management system and e-filing. These initiatives, the Courts say, have been instrumental in achieving an increased level of operation and workflow satisfaction. These initiatives are also in line with the Customer Service Charter announced by the UAE Prime Minister, launched with the aim of meeting customers’ needs through speedy delivery and efficient service.

DIFC Courts' efforts to improve its provision of 'accessible, efficient and transparent justice' was also noted by respondents. The satisfaction survey indicated that the Courts’ methods of communication has improved by 14% over the last year, with satisfaction rising to 77%.

Michael Hwang, Chief Justice of the DIFC Courts, said: "In line with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's vision for excellence in customer service, the DIFC Courts strive to ensure our users are treated with respect and professionalism and that their cases are handled with the highest levels of efficiency. We are pleased with the outcome of our latest satisfaction survey and [welcome] the efforts of the Courts’ team to achieve these results."

Mark Beer, Registrar of DIFC Courts welcomed increased participation in the survey this year, the number of responses doubling since the survey undertaken last year.

"The extensive feedback and increased satisfaction we’ve received indicates that each initiative and additional effort being conducted towards greater transparency and efficiency has a positive effect on the role of the DIFC Courts in our community. We are determined to continue rolling out initiatives and improving our services in line with the feedback received from our users," he said.

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