Defence Equipment Development Agreements - An Opportunity for the English Speaking Common Law Courts?

Kyiv by Night

Author Roman Naumov  Licence CC BY-SA 4.0  Source Wikimedia Commons

 

Jane Lambert

My last post Demand for English Legal Services in the Gulf expressed anxiety over the long-term future of the Gulf Cooperation Council member states.  I observed:

"It goes without saying that the current hostilities in the region are bad for business, and the longer they continue, the more difficult it will be. Much will depend on the outcome."

Although there has been a ceasefire between the United States and its allies in the Gulf and Iran, the United States Navy's counter-blockade of Iranian shipping has arguably added to the difficulties of restoring normality to the region.

However, there has been at least one development which may stimulate demand for the services of the English-speaking common law courts in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar and the lawyers who practise or would be eligible to practise in them.  President Zelenskyy's visits to the GCC states and the agreements that he has negotiated to develop and manufacture weapon systems based on Ukrainian technology are well-documented (see, for example, Sasha Vakulina What are Ukraine's new Gulf defence deals? Here is what Zelenskyy signed 30 March 2026 in Euronews and Jodesz Gavilan Ukraine Defense Firms See Surge in Foreign Partnership Offers 27 April 2026, The Defense Post).

The implementation of these international agreements will require weapons development agreements between defence contractors in Ukraine, the GCC countries and elsewhere.  Many, if not most, of those agreements will be in English, and they will all need to be construed and applied in accordance with an agreed system of law.  Since the laws which the DIFC, Abu Dhabi Global Markets and Qatar Financial Centre Courts are based on English law there is every reason to suppose that at least some of those parties will submit to the jurisdiction of one of those courts.  As Dubai has a Digital Economy Court which was presided over by fellow Mancunian, Michael Black KC, that would be my personal choice.

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