On 19 September 2023, Justice Shamlan Al Sawalehi dismissed the Appellant’s application of 7 July 2023 in which he had disputed the DIFC Court’s jurisdiction and sought to set aside a previous order dated 20 January 2023 in which the Court had recognised and enforced a Provisional Award dated 16 November 2022 against him. Permission to appeal was granted by the same judge on 12 January 2024 on the basis that the issue raised was one of public importance for users of the DIFC Courts.

As stated in the judgement at first instance, a single question arose for determination: did the DIFC Court have jurisdiction to enforce interim measures where the seat of the arbitration was not the DIFC, when those interim measures took the form of an award?