Arbitration in the UAE has seen a number of developments in 2018. These span both onshore arbitrations seated in mainland UAE and their offshore alternative seated in one of the free zones, i.e. the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) or the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

The UAE Federal Arbitration Law*^[1] was adopted on 3 May 2018 and came into force with effect from 15 June 2018*^[2].*^[3] The new Law repealed the arbitration-relevant provisions in the UAE Civil Procedures Code (Federal Law No. 11/1992), i.e. Article 203-218 of Federal Law No. 11/1992,*^[4] also known as the UAE Arbitration Chapter*^[3]. Needless to say, the adoption of Federal Law No. 6/2018, which is based on the UNCITRAL Model Law, marks a new era for arbitration in the UAE. It places the UAE on par with other Model Law jurisdictions and sends a strong signal to arbitration users and the arbitration community at large that arbitrations in the UAE follow best procedural practice and procedure. That said, arbitration under the UAE Arbitration Chapter, albeit procedurally challenging, never was unnavigable despite impressions created by one-sided, selective and at times opportunistic reporting.*^[3] On the contrary, the construction of the provisions of the UAE Arbitration Chapter by the UAE courts over the past quarter of a century has given rise to a jurisprudence constante that has provided reliable (and mostly arbitration-friendly) guidance on arbitration practice and procedure under the UAE Arbitration Chapter.