Dubai Courts Fast Track Employment Claims

by Lorys Charalambous, Tax-News.com, Cyprus

09 September 2011

The DIFC Courts, the Dubai International Financial Centre’s (DIFC) independent, common law judicial system, has announced that the fiancial limit on employment cases that can be heard by the small claims tribunal (SCT) has been increased from AED100,000 (USD27,000) to AED200,000. This has been introduced following feedback from the business and legal community.

The increase should save litigants time and money. The SCT is able to hear cases of any value where both parties agree in writing. Cases are largely heard by the small claims tribunal without the involvement of lawyers, and more than 90% have historically been resolved within three weeks of lodging the claim.

The change follows the increase in 2010 in the limit on non-employment cases to AED500,000 (provided both parties agree to using the small claims tribunal), and has come as one of the recent amendments to the Rules of the DIFC Courts, to further enhance the efficiency of proceedings before the DIFC Courts.

According to the DIFC Courts, the rules are based on the highest standards of commercial court procedures from around the world, and are widely acknowledged for efficiency and promoting parties to settle disputes before trial.

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