Dubai: Creating a global legal platform?

• Published in: Melbourne journal of international law Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 277 - 291
• Main Authors: Jeremy J Kingsley, Melinda Heap
• Format: Journal Article
• Published: Melbourne University of Melbourne, Faculty of Law 01.07.2019
• Subjects: Dispute resolution (Law); Dubai International Financial Centre; Economic aspects; Globalization; International commercial arbitration
• ISSN: 1444-8602

Globalisation is a complex economic and ideological notion that has revolutionised commercial realities in recent decades. This transforming mode of commercial arrangement requires a legal ecosystem that weaves its way across and between domestic, international and transnational legal systems and cultures. This article seeks to understand how Dubai has sought to create a global legal platform that is seeking, in essence, to create a de-territorialised legal fiction. In other words, they are seeking to develop a privatised dispute resolution system that operates within and without national borders and jurisdictions. It is arguably establishing a new legal platform to turn globalisation into a tangible legal idea. The Dubai International Financial Centre ('DIFC') is located in downtown Dubai yet aims to operate as if it were offshore. DIFC is composed of the DIFC Dispute Resolution Authority, the DIFC Authority (which functions as an executive body) and the Dubai Financial Services Authority (which regulates banking and finance). Despite being geographically located in downtown Dubai, they have their own rules and dispute resolution system separate from Emirati law and courts. DIFC is consciously a part of making Dubai into a global hub for legal services.