Dubai – 19 August 2026
Litigants from the UAE and 22 overseas jurisdictions spanning five continents chose to bring their disputes before the DIFC Courts in the first half of 2026, with opt-in cases accounting for nearly a third of the courts’ total caseload.
Figures released by the DIFC Courts show that 243 opt-in cases were filed during the six-month period, representing 30% of the 810 cases lodged across all divisions. Of these, the vast majority (201 cases) were filed with the Small Claims Tribunal, while the remaining 42 were spread across the Court of First Instance, the Arbitration Division and the Digital Economy Court.
Under DIFC Courts rules, parties to qualifying civil and commercial disputes may opt into the jurisdiction through a written agreement. The route is open to UAE businesses outside the DIFC as well as international parties. Crucially, no mandatory UAE connection is required to use the courts in this way.
Nearly half of CFI claims involve overseas parties
The Court of First Instance handled 30 opt-in claims during the period, with almost half (47%) involving at least one party based outside the UAE. These claims involved litigants from 13 overseas jurisdictions, including Saudi Arabia, Oman, India, Germany, Switzerland, the United States and Australia. Notably, some cases involved no UAE-based party at all.
Justice Omar Al Mheiri, Director of the DIFC Courts, said the figures reflected growing confidence in the courts as a neutral and reliable forum for resolving cross-border commercial disputes.
He noted that both UAE-based and international users were increasingly turning to the DIFC Courts for this purpose, including in cases with no domestic party. He added that the courts’ accessible, digitally enabled and independent approach to commercial justice was helping strengthen Dubai’s reputation as a trusted hub for international trade and investment, in line with the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33.
Overseas arbitration seats also represented
The Arbitration Division recorded 11 opt-in cases during the six-month period, eight of which related to arbitrations seated abroad in major hubs including Singapore, Hong Kong, London, Paris and Stockholm.
In these matters, parties opted into DIFC Courts jurisdiction for proceedings connected to overseas arbitrations.
Meanwhile, the Digital Economy Court received one opt-in claim involving parties from the United Kingdom, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, El Salvador and Vietnam.
The DIFC Courts noted that opting into their jurisdiction does not affect the governing law of a contract. Parties remain free to choose whichever law they wish to apply to their agreement.
