Introduction

A recent Commercial Court decision has raised an intriguing question of private international law: can a foreign judgment be enforced in England and Wales if it is not enforceable in the country where it was given?

In Dubai civil cases, if someone proves they cannot pay what the court ordered, they will normally avoid facing an arrest warrant, the emirate's highest judicial body has said.

Creditors need to demonstrate that the person who owes the money has sufficient funds to pay the debt before the court can issue an arrest warrant for unpaid dues.

Overview

This week’s Dekagram examines what happens when rules change: that transitional period between one set of rules and another, when no one is quite sure what’s happening. We seem to have had quite a few of those recently; just as we were getting over the horrors of the Withdrawal Act, along came the changes to the Fixed Recoverable Costs regime – changes which, we remind readers, remain in a state of flux, notwithstanding that the new regime is now in force.

Res Judicata and Rule Changes

In a significant recent judgment, the ADGM Court has clarified that it has jurisdiction to hear an action for fraudulent trading against the former directors of an onshore UAE company.

By way of background, NMC Healthcare LTD (NMC), and its various subsidiaries, were incorporated in onshore UAE. On 17 September 2020, NMC was redomiciled as an ADGM company. Shortly thereafter, on 27 September 2020, NMC was put into administration pursuant to the ADGM Insolvency Regulations 2015 and joint administrators (the Joint Administrators) appointed.

In the twelfth edition of the Going concerns, we cover set-offs and the net result of a creditor dealing with a company in liquidation; the first cross-border pre-pack scheme filed in the Singapore International Commercial Court ("SICC") by a foreign unregistered company that has been successfully sanctioned in Singapore: Re No Va Land Investment Group Corporation [2024] SGHC(I) 17 ("No Va Land"); and UAE's new bankruptcy law that came into effect on 1 May 2024, a relatively substantial overhaul of the onshore insolvency and restructuring regime in the UAE.

Federal Law Decree No 51 of 2023 concerning Financial Restructuring and Bankruptcy (the New Bankruptcy Law) came into effect in the UAE on 1 May 2024 and repealed the previous bankrupcty law, Federal Decree Law No 9 of 2016 (the Old Bankruptcy Law). All regulations issued under the Old Bankruptcy Law remain in force until new regulations are published, which will further clarify a number of points.

The United Arab Emirates enacted Federal Decree Law No. 51 of 2023 on Financial Restructuring and Bankruptcy (the “New Bankruptcy Law”).

It is worth noting that the New Bankruptcy Law established special courts to adjudicate on bankruptcy applications, and will be referred to as the bankruptcy courts (“Bankruptcy Courts”)

The New Bankruptcy Law addresses many important issues which a debtor might encounter if it is to initiate bankruptcy proceedings or if bankruptcy proceedings have been initiated against it. One of such important issues is the lease.  

As part of the continuous efforts of the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) to assist corporate taxpayers to understand and manoeuvre through the complexities of the corporate tax regime of UAE, FTA has released the latest Business Restructuring Relief Guide for Corporate Tax Purposes (Guide). However please be mindful that, unlike Tax laws, FTA Guidelines are not legally binding.

United Arab Emirates enacted Federal Decree Law No. 51 of 2023 on Financial Restructuring and Bankruptcy (the “New Bankruptcy Law”). The New Bankruptcy Law replaced Federal Decree Law No. 9 of 2016 on Bankruptcy and has come into force from May 1, 2024.

The New Bankruptcy Law aims at preserving the stability of the national economy, protect rights of creditors and helping debtors to maintain their business to the extent possible, while improving the restructuring and bankruptcy proceedings in the UAE.