In request no. 6 of 2025 (Public Authority – Civil – Arbitration), the General Assembly of the Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation issued a landmark decision on 18 December 2025. It is aimed at making the execution of cases in Abu Dhabi faster and more efficiently enforced. This means that in Abu Dhabi, enforcement proceedings for foreign judgments and foreign arbitral awards effectively end at the Court of Appeal stage.
Understanding the Enforcement Process Before This Decision
When a party has already obtained a foreign judgment or an arbitral award, and now wants to enforce it in the UAE against assets or parties located in the UAE. Under the old system, enforcement applications were filed as ordinary cases, which resulted in longer litigation. The new system introduced by Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022, enforcement requests are filed before the Execution Judge. It is filed before the Execution Judge through an “order on petition.”
Legal Provisions
Under Articles 222 and 223 of Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022, the party does not file an ordinary lawsuit anymore. Instead, an “order on petition” is filed. This is a fast-track provision in which the judge issues an order within five days.
The Main Legal Question Before the Court in this Case
- Whether the parties could file a cassation appeal against a Court of Appeal judgment concerning the enforcement of foreign judgments or arbitral awards.
- Earlier, there was an inconsistent judicial approach towards this issue in Abu Dhabi.
Why the Court Refused Cassation Appeals
The court rejected cassation appeals by stating that Article 222 provides that the execution judge’s decision can be appealed before the Court of Appeal but does not mention cassation anywhere. The court held that if the intention of the legislature was to allow cassation appeals, it would have been clearly mentioned in the law. Therefore, an appeal against the enforcement judgment before the Court of Appeal is allowed, while appeal before the Court of Cassation is excluded.
Importance of this Decision
- It Makes Enforcement Faster in Abu Dhabi – The losing party now has only one level of challenge after the execution judge’s decision. This helps in creating a more efficient enforcement system.
- It Reduces Dilatory Tactics – It prevents parties from causing deliberate delays by appealing from one court to another, which could otherwise prolong proceedings for years.
The Conflict
The decision and the method followed by the Abu Dhabi Court contradict the approach adopted by other emirates such as Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah, which have held that such decisions are susceptible to cassation review.
Conclusion
The judgment reflects Abu Dhabi’s intention to create a faster and more streamlined enforcement mechanism for foreign judgments and arbitral awards by limiting challenges to a single appellate stage. However, the differing approaches adopted by other emirates continue to create inconsistency in the interpretation of enforcement procedures across the UAE.