• This Practice Note provides practical guidance on settlement procedures and agreements in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) courts.

• It is important to note that there are two distinct legal systems in the UAE:

  • a federal civil law system which is administered in Arabic at a federal level, and in emirate courts (together, the local courts); and

  • a common law system which is administered in English by the courts of two unique freezones, namely the DIFC and the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

• This Practice Note focuses on the DIFC courts.

• DCR: Rules of the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts 2014 (DIFC Court Rules).

• ADR: Alternative dispute resolution.

• DIFC: Dubai International Financial Centre.

The DIFC courts are modelled closely on the English common law system. As a result, settlement agreements are treated similarly in the DIFC courts in much the same way as they are treated in the courts of England and Wales. Key features include the recognition of the "without prejudice" principle, and the automatic confidentiality of settlement agreements. These points, and additional considerations, are explained in further detail below.