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Practice Direction No. 1 of 2011 Small Claims Tribunal Practice
This Practice Direction will come into effect on the date of issue. It may be cited as Practice Direction 1 of 2011 — Small Claims Tribunal Practice and may be abbreviated to PD 1/2011.
1. This Practice Direction should be read in conjunction with the Rules of the DIFC Courts (“RDC”) and in particular RDC Part 53 — Small Claims Tribunal (“SCT”), and DIFC Courts Order No. 1 of 2010 in respect of The DIFC Courts Small Claims Tribunal (Limits of Jurisdiction) (the “Order“).
2. Where the Order refers to “amount of the claim or the value of the subject-matter of the claim” this shall not be deemed to include legal fees or interest.
3. Where the Order refers to the SCT’s jurisdiction to hear claims exceeding AED 100,000 (one hundred thousand UAE Dirhams) but not exceeding AED 500,000 (five hundred thousand UAE Dirhams) pursuant to an election in writing by all parties to the claim that it be heard by the SCT, neither party shall be able to withdraw such election without the approval of a SCT Judge.
4. Where a claimant is bringing claims based on separate invoices, the SCT Judge may treat these claims as a single consolidated claim under RDC 4.2(7) for the purposes of deciding whether the amount in dispute exceeds the limits of the SCT’s jurisdiction.
5. RDC 53.10 states that “The Claimant must include in the claim form the name and address for service of the Defendant, together with any other available contact information.” Where the Defendant is a company, the Claimant shall furnish proof of address where, to the best of his knowledge, the officers of Company may be found.
