By James Atton, Joint-Head of Litigation Partner at Mackrell.Solicitors

I am delighted to report that following a landmark judgement given in January 2020 in respect of Lenkor Energy Trading DMCC v Irfan Iqbal Puri [2020] EWHC 75 (QB), obtained by the Mackrell.Solicitors’ litigation team, which the Supreme Court recently refused permission to appeal, the Ministry of Justice of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have confirmed reciprocity with the UK courts on enforcement matters.

The claim brought by Mackrell.Solicitors in the High Court for our client, Lenkor Energy Trading DMCC, successfully recognised a judgment of the Dubai First Instance Court, in the amount of AED (Dirhams) 184,500,000 (plus continuing interest) or £38,000,000.00 GBP, following the expiration of the final appeal in Dubai.

In response to this finding, the UAE Ministry of Justice has now confirmed that judgments issued in Great Britain and Northern Ireland can be enforced in the UAE thanks to both Lenkor Energy Trading DMCC v Puri (2020) EWHC 75 (QB) and the general reciprocity principle.

Addressed to the Dubai Courts, this notification says:

“We find that the principle is met given that English Courts have enforced a judgement rendered by Dubai Courts under a final judgement handed down by the High Court of Justice in the UK in Lenkor Energy Trading DMCC v Irfan Iqbal Puri [2020] EWHC 75 (QB) (Lenkor), which is judicial precedent and a binding principle for all English courts according to the judicial system.”

The effect of this announcement is that, going forward, enforcement matters in England and Wales against individuals or organisations in the UAE will now be recognised and vice versa.

This could clearly open up considerable opportunities for bringing new litigation matters between these two important jurisdictions.

Supporting disputes in Dubai

The agreement on reciprocity should now give some comfort to those acting lawfully that they can rely on enforcement actions in the UAE being honoured in England and Wales and vice versa.

If you are in dispute with a business in Dubai or the UAE and require assistance, please speak to James Atton today by calling +44 (0) 207 240 0521 or emailing james.atton@mackrell.com

 

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