This question has been put to test when the UAE Courts, at least in two recent cases, decided to
hear the claims as a whole, notwithstanding the existence of a valid and unchallenged
arbitration agreement on the ground that it would be prejudicial to segregate parts of the
claims between the arbitration and the Court.

These judgments seem to create a new gateway for the parties to escape the effect of
arbitration clauses and get their claims heard before UAE local courts.

We believe that this is no the end of the story. However, this puts the parties, who are often
involved in multi-party projects and multi-related contracts, on the lookout and thinking
whether, or not, is it enough to have a valid arbitration agreement to stay out of the local
courts’ jurisdiction?

For the full Article, please feel free to follow this link:
https://ciarbuae.wordpress.com/2021/10/08/is-it-enough-to-have-a-valid-arbitration-agreement-to-stay-out-of-the-courts-jurisdiction/