The DIAC Rules of Arbitration (“DIAC Arbitration Rules”), which may be downloaded below, are applied in arbitral proceedings when Parties have agreed to DIAC arbitration to resolve their dispute. The DIAC was first created in 1994 and was initially known as the Center for Commercial Conciliation and Arbitration located in the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The DIAC Arbitration Rules have undergone fewer revisions than the rules of other major international arbitration institutions.
The DIAC Arbitration Rules were first published in the same year as the DIAC’s establishment. The 1994 DIAC Arbitration Rules can be downloaded here: 1994 DIAC Arbitration Rules.
In 2007, the revised DIAC Arbitration Rules were issued. Approved by the Ruler of Dubai and issued in the local Official Gazette, they superseded the rules from 1994. The 2007 DIAC Arbitration Rules, which remain current, may be downloaded here:2007 DIAC Arbitration Rules. The main version of the rules is in English. The DIAC Arbitration Rules also exist in Arabic, however.
In the end of 2017, the DIAC announced its intended publication of new arbitration rules. The proposed new rules should bring ameliorated mechanisms of ratification and enforcement of arbitral awards delivered under the auspices of the DIAC. These revised rules also contain provisions on emergency arbitrators, third-party funding disclosure and expedited arbitration proceedings. They also give the possibility of control over draft awards, which did not previously exist. Finally, the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) is proposed as the default seat of arbitration organised under DIAC Rules of Arbitration. This change is linked to promulgation of a new Arbitration Law of the United Arab Emirates earlier this year.
This latest version remains unpublished, but it should encompass the latest mechanisms and procedures already applied by other arbitral institutions, reflecting current best practice.
