ADGM Courts and RAK Courts sign enforcement agreement

Partnership is latest Abu Dhabi Global Market free zone has struck with other bodies

In the UAE, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) are spearheading the FinTech development. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

Abu Dhabi Global Market Courts, the judiciary of the emirate’s financial free zone, signed a partnership with Ras Al Khaimah Courts in the northern emirate, enabling them to enforce each other’s judgments.

The deal is intended to create greater alignment in the legal decisions taken by different court systems across the country.

“ADGM Courts strongly believes that the widening and strengthening of its enforcement framework across the UAE will serve to increase the local and global community’s confidence in the UAE judicial system and, in turn, bolster the growth of the economy through more investment and trade,” Lord David Hope, chief justice of ADGM Courts, said on Monday.

The agreement will enhance users’ confidence in RAK Courts’ ability to ensure efficient delivery of legal services, added Ahmed Mohammed Al Khattari, chairman of Ras Al Khaimah Courts Department. “RAK Courts is continuously seeking to further its cooperation with ADGM Courts, which is known for its world-class judicial services,” he said.

Under the deal, ADGM Courts will have the legal power to enforce judgments, decisions and orders made in RAK Court cases and vice-versa. It follows an agreement between ADGM Courts and the RAK International Corporate Centre in November 2017, which stipulated that businesses in Ras Al Khaimah can have their dispute cases heard in Abu Dhabi.

Authorities from the two emirates also committed to exchanging information and ideas useful for businesses and investors and continue engagement “on all judicial matters”, particularly regarding the use of technology to assist in the enforcement of judgments, it was stated at the time.

The RAK Courts deal also comes as ADGM ramps up its push to forge new partnerships with judiciaries, regulators and financial centres overseas, including with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Beijing Financial Street Services Bureau, and others.