A dispute arose between a Subcontractor and Main Contractor. The Subcontractor filed a lawsuit against the Main Contractor before the Dubai Court of First Instance to claim 4,100,000 AED which was the outstanding payment balance. They relied on a settlement agreement the parties had signed at a later stage, which provided for payment of the outstanding balance by instalments.

The Main Contractor argued that the settlement agreement signed between the parties referred to a subcontract agreement which contained an arbitration clause and asked the Court of First Instance to refuse to hear the dispute because of a lack of jurisdiction. The Dubai Court of First Instance ruled in favour of the Subcontractor. This was upheld by the Court of Appeal.

The Dubai Court of Cassation referred to Article 5(3) of Federal Law No. 6/2018.