Dubai & DIFC / Enforcement
Judgments, Awards and Enforcement
Winning is one thing and recovering is another. Recognition and enforcement are separate stages, an arbitral award is not treated like a court judgment, and the assets decide where the work is actually done.
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- Recognition and enforcement treated as separate stages
- Freezing orders under Part 25 of the Rules
- Asset position assessed before strategy
An unenforced judgment is a document. Turning it into money runs through a sequence of separate questions, and conflating them is the most common reason enforcement stalls. Is the decision one this court will recognise. If it is recognised, what enforcement steps are then available. Where are the assets, and are they still there.
The distinction between an arbitral award and a court judgment runs through all of it. They arrive under different instruments, they are resisted on different grounds, and the applications are made in different ways. An approach built for one does not transfer to the other.
Preserving assets is often more urgent than the enforcement itself. A freezing order is an interim remedy under Part 25 of the Rules of the DIFC Courts, and the Rules expressly contemplate orders reaching assets outside the jurisdiction. It is a demanding application with continuing duties attached, not a routine step.
The enforcement framework
Part 25
Interim remedies
Including freezing orders, with a specimen order published at Schedule A to Part 25.
RDC 25.1(6)
Assets inside or outside the jurisdiction
The Rules expressly extend to restraining dealings with assets wherever located.
CA 003/2024
Carmon Reestrutura v Cuenda
Court of Appeal, 26 November 2024. Freezing orders in aid of prospective foreign judgments.
Part 43
Arbitration claims
The route for applications concerning arbitral awards.
Rule references are to the Rules of the DIFC Courts as published. Check the current text and the later history of any decision before relying on it.
What arises in practice
Enforcement issues
Enforcement questions separate into what is being enforced, where the assets are, and what can be done to stop them moving.
Recognition of a foreign judgment
What has to be established before a judgment from another court is recognised in the DIFC.
Enforcing an arbitral award
A separate route under a separate instrument, with its own narrow grounds of resistance.
Freezing orders
Interim relief to stop assets being dissipated, including orders that reach assets outside the jurisdiction.
Relief in aid of foreign proceedings
Freezing relief where the substantive case is proceeding elsewhere and no judgment has yet been given.
Asset disclosure
Disclosure orders that usually accompany a freezing order and give it practical effect.
Resisting enforcement
The grounds genuinely available to an award or judgment debtor, which are narrower than most expect.
Execution
The steps that follow recognition, and what they can realistically reach.
Urgency and sequencing
Which application goes first when assets are moving and the substantive case is not finished.
A decision worth knowing
Freezing orders before a foreign judgment exists
Whether the DIFC Courts can freeze assets when the substantive case is running in another country, and no judgment has yet been given, was settled one way and then the other within about fourteen months.
In Sandra Holding Ltd v Al Saleh (CA 003/2023, 6 September 2023) the Court of Appeal took a restrictive view of that power. In Carmon Reestrutura-engenharia E Servicos Tecnios Especiais (Su) LDA v Cuenda (CA 003/2024, 26 November 2024) the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and held, under the heading that the legal principle in Sandra Holding should not be followed, that the earlier Court had taken what it described as a wrong turning in an unduly restrictive view of its own powers.
The Court reasoned from the Rules themselves. Part 25 allows interim remedies including orders restraining a party from dealing with assets whether located within the jurisdiction or not, and the remedy is available whether or not a final remedy of that kind has been claimed. Those powers exist to prevent the Court's jurisdiction being thwarted, and that includes its jurisdiction to recognise and enforce foreign judgments, which can be defeated if a party dissipates assets before the foreign judgment arrives.
Two qualifications are part of the decision rather than a gloss on it. Power is not the same as entitlement, and whether an order should be made remains a question of discretion requiring careful consideration. The Court also observed that in many such cases an order would be expected to be limited to assets within Dubai rather than worldwide.
Read from the reasons in the published judgment, including paragraphs 202 to 205. Later history should be checked before this is relied on in a live matter.
Not the same thing
Enforcing an award and enforcing a judgment
| Arbitral award | Court judgment | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it comes from | A tribunal the parties agreed to, under an arbitration agreement. | A court exercising its own jurisdiction. |
| The route in the DIFC Courts | An arbitration claim under Part 43 of the Rules. | Recognition, then the enforcement steps that follow. |
| Grounds of resistance | Narrow and defined. Not a rehearing of the merits. | Directed at recognition, including jurisdiction and process. |
| What the debtor usually argues | A defect in the agreement, the process or the tribunal's authority. | That the judgment should not be recognised here at all. |
| What decides the strategy | Where the assets are, in both cases. The instrument decides the route, the assets decide the destination. |
An orientation to the difference in approach, not a statement of the grounds available in a particular case.
How enforcement is approached
The usual sequence
- 1
Establish what you are holding
An award and a judgment take different routes. Identify the instrument, the issuing body and the exact terms of the order before choosing an application.
- 2
Locate the assets
Enforcement follows assets. Where they are decides which court is approached, in what order, and whether the exercise is worth its cost at all.
- 3
Consider preservation first
If there is a real risk of dissipation, a freezing order and asset disclosure may come before enforcement, and may be available even while a foreign case is still running.
- 4
Recognition
The decision has to be recognised before the enforcement machinery is available. This is the stage most often resisted.
- 5
Enforcement steps
Once recognised, the steps available are applied against identified assets.
- 6
Meet the continuing duties
Interim relief carries continuing obligations, including full and frank disclosure and usually an undertaking in damages. Breach of them can cost the order.
A general sequence. The order of steps changes with urgency, the assets and where the substantive case is running.
Where you might be right now
Enforcement situations
The debtor is moving assets and your case is running in another country.
Freezing relief in the DIFC may be available even though no judgment exists yet. The Court of Appeal confirmed the power in Carmon in November 2024. Whether an order should be made is a separate discretionary question.
You hold an award and the debtor will not pay.
The award is taken through the arbitration-claim route rather than treated as a judgment. The grounds a debtor can raise are narrow, and the practical question is usually where the assets sit.
A freezing order has been made against you.
There are defined routes to vary or discharge it, and separate provision for ordinary living and legal expenses. The order's own terms decide what is permitted in the meantime.
A judgment from another country needs to work against assets in Dubai.
Recognition comes first and it is a real hurdle, not a formality. What the foreign court decided, and how, is examined at that stage.
The framework
What governs enforcement here
Rules of the DIFC Courts
- Part 25
- Schedule A to Part 25
- Part 43
Interim remedies including freezing orders, the Court's specimen freezing order, and arbitration claims.
DIFC Arbitration Law, DIFC Law No. 1 of 2008
- Consolidated
The instrument for awards, including recognition and the grounds on which enforcement is resisted.
Dubai Law No. 2 of 2025 concerning the DIFC Courts
- Jurisdiction
The law under which the Court's jurisdiction, including over recognition and enforcement, is framed.
Sources
What this page is built on
Part 25 and Part 43 of the Rules of the DIFC Courts as published, together with the specimen freezing order at Schedule A to Part 25. The freezing-order section is taken from the reasons in Carmon Reestrutura v Cuenda (CA 003/2024), read against Sandra Holding v Al Saleh (CA 003/2023). The Court of Appeal's treatment of recognition and enforcement in DNB Bank ASA v Gulf Eyadah Corporation (CA 007/2015) remains part of the background to this area.
Decisions in this area have changed direction more than once. Check the later history of any authority before relying on it.
Guides on this topic
Judgments, awards and enforcement
Each guide takes one situation and works through what has to be established, what the records need to show and what the procedure requires.
- Personal Debt and Company Assets: What Exactly Can Be Sold?
Owning every share does not make the company's property your personal property. But the shares themselves can become the target of a court-supervised enforcement sale.
- You Won a DIFC Judgment but Cannot Find the Debtor's Assets
An unpaid judgment does not identify a bank balance or a saleable asset. A targeted information application can help, but its scope, service and follow-through matter.
- My DIFC Freezing Order Stops Me Paying Rent and Legal Fees
A freezing order may allow specified living and legal expenses. The wording, funding source and evidence of need matter more than a general statement that everything is frozen.
- I Won an Arbitral Award but the Debtor Will Not Pay in Dubai
An arbitral award establishes an entitlement. Getting paid requires a separate recovery plan, correct service and a realistic account of the debtor's assets.
- The Debtor Is Moving Assets: Can I Get a DIFC Freezing Order?
A sale, refinancing or refusal to pay does not by itself prove that assets are being put beyond reach. The urgent task is to separate evidence from fear.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is enforcing an award the same as enforcing a judgment?+−
No. They arrive under different instruments, are resisted on different grounds and are applied for in different ways. An approach built for one does not transfer to the other.
Can the DIFC Courts freeze assets if my case is running in another country?+−
Yes. In Carmon Reestrutura v Cuenda (CA 003/2024) the Court of Appeal held that the power exists in aid of a prospective foreign judgment, departing from Sandra Holding. Whether an order should be made remains a separate discretionary question.
Will a freezing order cover assets outside Dubai?+−
It can. The Rules expressly extend to assets whether located within the jurisdiction or not. But the Court observed that in many cases an order would be expected to be limited to assets within Dubai.
What does a freezing order require of the applicant?+−
It is demanding. Full and frank disclosure and usually an undertaking in damages, both continuing. Breach of those duties can cost you the order.
I have a judgment but cannot find the debtor's assets. What now?+−
Asset disclosure orders usually accompany or follow enforcement and are what give it practical effect. Enforcement strategy follows the assets, so locating them comes before choosing the application.
Matters before the DIFC Courts are conducted by the firm, with counsel from its panel of DIFC-registered advocates engaged for the hearing. The firm acts as counsel in arbitrations seated in the DIFC and the wider UAE, and conducts the Indian proceedings that follow, including enforcement of UAE awards and judgments in India. This section is legal information, not legal advice.
Find the assets before choosing the application
Enforcement strategy follows the assets. What you hold decides the route, and the risk of dissipation decides how quickly the first step has to be taken.
Enquiries are handled in confidence. The firm conducts the matter and engages counsel from its panel of DIFC-registered advocates for any hearing.