H.H. Sheikh Maktoum approves DIFC Courts Strategic Work Plan

A new three-year plan, outlining a full digital transformation, to increase the efficiency of dispute resolution at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) courts has been approved.

Consisting of 28 projects, the DIFC Courts Strategic Work Plan will adopt end-to-end digital technology, ensuring court systems are smart, user-friendly and agile enough to keep pace with global commerce.

It will include the launch of an international court specialised in digital economy that will look into disputes involving "big data, blockchain, cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence, and cloud services", a centre for Will Deposit and a comprehensive Digital Will Management System.

The DIFC Courts will also offer multi-lingual consultancy services.

H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and President of the Dubai International Financial Centre, approved the plan, highlighting "the integral role the DIFC Courts has in supporting Dubai and the DIFC’s status as a global business hub by engendering trust, confidence, and protecting business continuity".

It will use artificial intelligence to "reduce clerical burdens, help streamline the case review methodology, create a realistic virtual presence, remove document duplications, and unlock time to take on significantly more complex tasks".

Future research from the DIFC Courts will combine expertise and resources to investigate handling disputes arising out of private and public blockchains, with regulation and contractual terms encoded within the smart contract. Implications for cross-border data flows, digital and data governance, and ensuring protection and security of information for the business relationships that help drive the digital economy, are now being reviewed with accelerated intent.