Mediation in the United Arab Emirates

How to cite this journal: Author, Date of the post, WMO Conflict Insight, Title of the post, ISSN:
2628-6998, https://worldmediation.org/journal/

Sulh or amicable settlement has a long history within Arab and Islamic societies and have their roots in pre-Islamic Arabia. Party autonomy is one of the most attractive elements of the mediation process. In the case of litigation/arbitration, the judge/tribunal considers the available evidence and applies the applicable legislation to a dispute, whereas during mediation the parties themselves put forth their terms of the settlement and they remain responsible and answerable for such terms.

In a promising commercial and trading hub like the UAE, mediation as an alternative avenue to traditional court litigation has proven to be an effective means of resolving disputes and attaining the most optimum results. People wish to maintain enduring commercial, social and economic relationships with their business partners. Years of legal disputing might ruin their relationship if the court as the mode of dispute resolution has opted. Thus, the disputants prepare themselves to cease their stalemate by way of the amicable settlement. Mediation enables the parties to remain in control of time, cost and outcome. It evokes a feeling that they haven’t compromised much to achieve a “win-win” outcome of the dispute, as their interests are valued to its brim.  Mediations are sometimes attempted while the cases are pending in court. This is in the best interest of achieving a speedy resolution to an ongoing case. It has been noticed that often the chosen mediators are legal counsels. This is due to their awareness of the legal rights and obligations concerning the dispute. The parties are thereby benefited from the legal counsels’ skills in drafting the settlement agreement. The courts in the UAE give the same weightage as of judge’s order for the settlement agreement if the benefited party opts to file it in the court.

In the UAE, by virtue of federal law, mediation centers were established wherein civil/commercial disputes not exceeding AED 500,000 and of non-estimated value are referred. The significant feature of the law is that the settlement arrived in the mediation process is final and that it cannot be appealed.

IN DUBAI

The ruler of Dubai launched the authority for amicable settlement of civil and commercial disputes in Dubai by virtue of Dubai Law No. 16 of 2009. This progression describes the UAE government’s desire to encourage and increase the utilization of the mediation process to resolve disputes. The settlement reached by the parties shall be recorded in the form of a reconciliation agreement as approved by the competent judge and shall be binding on the parties.

GENDER EQUALITY

It is a fundamental principle that when peace negotiations include women, peace lasts longer. The partnership between the UAE Ministry of Defence, the General Women’s Union, and UN Women to support Arab women who are interested in serving as peacekeepers proves that the UAE is working to mainstream gender equality and women’s empowerment in conflict prevention and maintaining international peace and security. Implementation of this program however on the ground remains a challenge due to the prolonged nature of crisis today and women and girls are targeted in the conflict zones of terrorism and extremism.  

CHALLENGES

The most obvious downside with mediation is that it is unlikely to work unless the parties genuinely desire to reach an agreement. The parties cannot be compelled to mediate unlike in litigation/arbitration. With the outcome of mediation, the mediator’s role ends as the mediator is not there to judge or impose a decision. Another downside of mediation in the UAE is weak procedural steps. Critic debates that definite procedures need to be followed in a manner that will conform to some basic standards and strategies for dispute resolution.  It is also argued that mediation is another tier of litigation and a waste of time and money when no binding decision is reached as the parties subsequently litigate.  Mediation is not adequate when a legal decision is required where an area of law is unclear or untested. Further, the remedies such as injunction, mandatory and prohibitory orders cannot be achieved or agreed upon by mediation. There is no specific federal or local legislation in the UAE for executing the mediation result arising out of private mediation. Hence, the parties need to rely on the traditional court system in the UAE, for enforcement of the mediation settlement agreements.

CONCLUSION

Beyond the domestic legislations, as part of a wide-ranging methodology to prevent and settle disputes peacefully, the UAE has called on the international community to build up mediation efforts. At the UN Security Council Open Debate, the UAE delegate to the UN emphasized the prominence of mediation and peaceful resolution of conflicts.  The Middle East is notable for long-term conflict in multiple countries viz Libya, Palestine, Syria, and Yemen.  Hence, this region could benefit from greater mediation efforts. The success of the peace agreement between Eritrea and Ethiopia is a triumphant instance of the UAE’s diplomatic efforts to establish peace.

This Post Has 4 Comments

  1. KRUSCH PATHIPPALLIL ANTONY

    Good to see your Article…and hope you recall me. Is there any Mediation Center in UAE – for resolving disputes among NRIs – Non- Resident Indians at UAE. If not, shall we work for the same? Looking Forward to hear your comments on the proposal.
    Regards, Krusch Antony.

    1. Sherina Saji

      Nice to hear from you Krusch.

      To my knowledge, there are no mediation centres in the UAE currently for resolving disputes among Non- Resident Indians in the UAE. However, Norka-Roots, a public sector undertaking under Non-Resident Keralites’ (“NRKs”) Affairs Department (“Norka”) of the Kerala government, is planning to appoint legal liaison officers especially Keralite lawyers in the UAE empanelled by the UAE government to provide free legal aid under the Pravasi [Expat] Legal Aid Cell (PLAC). The services of the PLAC include legal counselling, assisting Expats from Kerala to get legal representation in the courts, supplementing the existing schemes for repatriation of NRKs, ensuring consular assistance to those facing issues related to passport, visa and employment, handling issues related to convictions, imprisonment and medical treatment of prisoners etc.

  2. Sherina Saji

    Thanks for your feedback.

    In fact all the communities in the world use one or the other form of dispute resolution process and ideally, mode of mediation in all the countries remains almost the same. The difference however, lies only in their origin. Lack of a proper data is a hindrance in identifying the most predominant method of dispute resolution though.

    In India, disputants widely adopted the Panchayat system and it developed as one of the best forms of out-of-the-court settlement process. I believe the origin of mediation in China lies in the Confucianism, also known as Ruism, which highlights the importance of the family and social harmony. The core of Confucianism is being human! The USA owe the origin of mediation to the Global Pound Conference which was inspired by Harvard law professor Roscoe Pound. Likewise, Woolf Reforms played a vital role in encouraging mediation process in the UK.

  3. I enjoyed the information shared in this article. It illustrates that the benefits and shortcomings of mediation are the same from one country to another.

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