Dubai International Financial Centre Courts
Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 27 May 2018: The Dubai International Financial Centre’s Dispute Resolution Authority (DRA), which incorporates the DIFC Courts, signed a unique memorandum with the University of Oxford’s China Centre to pool expertise on the legal certainty, protection and contract enforcement needed for Chinese and international investors to secure participation in China’s five trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative.
The accord will focus on ways to protect large-scale investments through linking China and the world’s court
Speaking at the signing event at the University of Oxford, Chief Justice
A 2016 survey by Lexis Nexis and the China Institute of Corporate and Legal Affairs reported that half of respondent Chinese firms engaged on BRI deals face legal challenges. To date, projects worth an estimated US$350 billion have been financed, mainly by Chinese development banks. To encourage foreign investment, robust dispute resolution systems and transnational enforcement mechanisms must be in place to foster investor confidence and legal certainty.
Enforceability of judgments across multiple judicial systems, and guarantees that money can be collected after winning a case in a foreign court, are critical enablers of international commerce. As one of the world’s leading commercial courts, operating in the English-language and using common law principles for over ten years, DIFC Courts has a unique track record of fast-track connectivity and technology-enabled dispute resolution, such as virtual courts.
Launching the collaboration at the China Centre, Michael Hwang SC, Chief Justice, DIFC Courts and Head of the DRA, said: “We are joining forces with the University of Oxford to look at practical solutions for the future of dispute resolution for one of the world’s most ambitious projects. As goods and services travel across the world along the BRI, they will seamlessly cross borders – so we shall need a seamless legal platform, based on legal convergence, that can start to do the same. This aim can partly be fulfilled by the near-universality of the New York Convention for recognition and enforcement of international arbitral awards But the ideal legal platform should also include a robust regime of enforceable court judgments outside the boundaries of the issuing court. The answer is to make sure that when a dispute is resolved, court systems can deliver a judgment that can be executed across the full extent of the belt and road. Building up connectivity and enforceability will remove many of the roadblocks that could threaten the success of the Belt and Road Initiative.”
Professor Rana Mitter, Director of China Centre University of Oxford, said: “We are pleased to sign this important memorandum with DIFC Courts. The opportunities of the Belt and Road Initiative are substantial, but so are the potential legal complexities and risks. I am confident that our work alongside DIFC Courts will make an essential contribution