Friday 28 December 2012

DIFC Courts: Choice of Jurisdiction Clauses

In DIFC Courts Spread Their Wings, 7 Dec 2011, I discussed the amendment to art 5 (2) of Law No. 12 of 2004 which extended the DIFC's courts' jurisdiction to any dispute that the parties might refer to them.
Practice Direction No. 2 of 2012 DIFC Courts' Jurisdiction suggests the following choice of jurisdiction clauses.

If the parties want the DIFC courts to have exclusive jurisdiction, they can use the following words for future disputes:
"Any dispute arising out of or in connection with this contract, including any question regarding its existence, validity or termination, shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of the Dubai International Financial Centre.
This contract shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of [INSERT PLACE]."
Or this formula for existing disputes:
"A dispute having arisen between the parties concerning [DEFINE DISPUTE], the parties hereby agree that the dispute shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the DIFC Courts.
The governing law of this agreement shall be the law of [INSERT PLACE]"
If they want to confer non-exclusive jurisdiction they can choose the following clause:
"Any dispute arising out of or in connection with this contract, including any question regarding its existence, validity or termination, shall be subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of the Dubai International Financial Centre.
Each party irrevocably submits to the jurisdiction of the DIFC Courts and waives any objection it may have to disputes arising out of or in connection with this contract being heard in the Courts of Dubai International Financial Centre on the grounds that it is an inconvenient forum (forum non conveniens).
This contract shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of [INSERT PLACE]."
Should anybody require further information he or she can call me on +44 (0)161 850 0080 or email me through my contact page. You can also follow me on Facebook, Linkedin, twitter or Xing..

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