November 15, 2017 Registrar Directions
Registrar’s Direction No 3 of 2017 – Expert Evidence of Shari’a Law in the DIFC Courts
THE DUBAI INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTRE COURTS
REGISTRAR’S DIRECTION NO 3 OF 2017
Expert Evidence of Shari’a Law in the DIFC Courts
Citation
This Registrar’s Direction will come into effect on the date of signature. It may be cited as Registrar’s Direction 3 of 2017 — Expert Evidence of Shari’a Law in the DIFC Courts and may be abbreviated to RD 3/2017.
Background
Pursuant to the Rules of the DIFC Courts (RDC) the giving of expert evidence is regulated in the manner prescribed by Part 31.
This may be relevant for example in the context of the DIFC Trust Law, Law No. 11 of 2005, as amended. Under the DIFC Trust Law, the DIFC Courts may be asked to give their opinion, advice and direction about any matter concerning a trust (Article 21(1)), and the Court may if it thinks fit make Orders concerning, inter alia, the execution or administration of a trust and the correctness or propriety of the conduct of trustees (Article 21(2)).
Issues requiring identification of the relevant Shari’a principles may arise where the trust instrument requires Shari’a compliance in such matters as the exercise of the trustee’s investment powers, or allocation of trust income or corpus.
Direction
Where the requirements of Shari’a law are relevant to a matter before the DIFC Courts, these are to be established as a matter of expert evidence and RDC Part 31 applies to the parties who seek to place such evidence before the Court in any particular hearing.
Parties are referred to Part 31 in this regard. Should there be any issues arising as to its application in this context, an application should be made to Court for directions.
Registrar
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