International lawyers are taking issue with the British & Irish Commercial Bar Association (BICBA) holding a seminar in collaboration with the University of Dubai and the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) on the 14th of March. The agenda for the seminar is to discuss and promote the UAE as a “world centre for arbitration”. The Solicitors Journal reported “Commercial Bar under fire for promoting Dubai as a world arbitration centre” last week. The Law Society Gazette similarly published “Don’t promote the UAE, bar association warned”. Ben Cooper, Barrister of Doughty Street Chambers, David Haigh, Solicitor and former Leeds United MD and Radha Stirling, founder of Detained in Dub

Starts- British lawyers are taking issue with the British & Irish Commercial Bar Association holding a seminar in collaboration with the University of Dubai and the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) on the 14th of March. The agenda for the seminar is to discuss and promote the UAE as a “world centre for arbitration”. British lawyers who are experienced with UAE legal and judicial practice have expressed concern over the BICBA encouraging and promoting a judicial system with a proven track record of: Corruption Legal Abuse Unfair Trials Denial of access to justice Wrongful Interpol reports Arbitrary detentions Human rights violations The UK High Court and all subsequent courts si

British Irish Commercial Bar Association should be aware that in working with the Dubai International Arbitration Centre next month, they are supporting extensive illegal and corrupt misconduct within the UAE legal system, misconduct committed by the Chairman of DIAC himself. Next month, the British Irish Commercial Bar Association is holding a joint event with the University of Dubai to discuss a leadership role for the UAE in the field of arbitration and the UAE as a world centre for arbitration. Ironically, the Chairman of the Dubai International Arbitration Centre & Chairman of Baker & McKenzie’s Dubai office Dr Habib Al Mulla, has abused his role in the Dubai Courts by displaying extrem

The media has published numerous cases of how the UAE has been abusing its authority and judicial system against foreigners for years. We even have a number of documentaries and information available online showing the countless professional foreigners who have been jailed or mistreated because it has been to the advantage of a local, so why on earth are we as a group, going back for more? Is it hope? Greed? Or is it perhaps the "it won't happen to me" mentality? Perhaps we are lured by the welcoming hospitality of the people of the Gulf. We dine with them, go on holidays with them and we feel (and are even told) that we are "family". There is no doubt about it... The UAE has a big marketing

The case of the theft of $610 million from British National's company KMHoldings is very simple, but very complex at the same time. What happened is straightforward; how it happened is complicated. Background: British National Mr Haddad was Managing Partner of KM Holdings. His local business partner offered him a low amount to buy out his shareholding. He declined and so in retaliation, the assets of the company were wrongfully gifted to the cousin of the ruler of Dubai, including Mr Haddad’s 50% shareholding. Essentially, what we are talking about is the theft of 250 million pounds, and the convoluted manner in which this was achieved mustn't obscure the fact that what occurred was a theft.

Of course it is an encouraging and hopeful sign that the UAE is recognizing that there are enormous problems with the country's legal system; to the extent that they have decided to create a new and separate court and prosecution department for tourists. It is certainly true that ignorance of the laws and cultural misunderstandings do often lead to unnecessary criminal cases against tourists. However, the ignorance and misunderstanding are not always on the part of the tourist, but rather on the part of law enforcement officials themselves. Implicit in the creation of this new court is an acknowledgement that the existing system often fails to properly investigate cases, and that due process

موقع انجليزي يحذر المستثمرين الأجانب من فساد رؤوس الأموال الإماراتية بغطاء حكومي إماراتي حذر الموقع الإنجليزي "ديتين إن دبي"المستثمرين الأجانب في إمارة دبي مما أسماه "خطرا جديا يحيق بالمستثمرين الأجانب"، معتبراً أن البنية التشريعية وما وصفه "بالفساد" يعرض المستثمرين لمصادرة أموالهم والسرقة من جانب الشركاء المحليين، بغطاء من القانون والفساد ومسؤولين حكوميين كبارا.، على حد زعمه. واورد الموقع في تقرير نشره موقع " الإمارات 71" قصة الدكتور محمد حداد، مشيراً إلى أنهفي بعض حالات الفساد لا يمكن تقديم وثائق وأدلة دامغة، ولكن في حالة "حداد" فإنه يتوفر أدلة دامغة وسجلات دقيقة، حيث أنه عام 2008، كان الدكتور محمد حداد رئيس و مالك 50٪ من أسهم شركة في دبي رأسمالها 500 مليون جنيه استرليني، عندما تلقى رسالة

"While a number of foreign governments have warned citizens about breaking the laws in Dubai and have even updated them to include the promotion of charities online or other social media violations, one would think that if one follows the advice and avoids breaking the laws, that one's visit would be safe and trouble free. If visitors review their Embassy's travel advice, they would know that it is unlawful to use rude gestures or be offensive to others and think that if they avoided such behaviour, they would be fine. What is not clearly explained by the government bureaus is that false allegations are prevalent in the UAE and can lead to lengthy detentions and prosecution. Even if one hasn

First Press Release respecting unfair detention of British National Nico Consari. British National Nico Consari has been held in Dubai without charge for over a year police case Case: 2015 / 58091), and no one knows why. He was accused of misappropriating funds from a company he does NOT work for, and to which he has no connection whatsoever. The alleged crime does not fall under the national security laws which enable the police to detain suspects indefinitely, so why has Mr. Consari remained so long in detention without ever being charged? "The entire situation is an outright violation of my human rights" - Nico Consari He has requested bail several times from the Chief Prosecutor, Mr. Kha

Statement by Radha Stirling, founder & CEO of Detained in Dubai “I have been aware of Luisa’s case now since 2015. She was originally accused under new “Cybercrime Laws” of promoting a fundraiser for two children in need of urgent medical care. It is now illegal to promote any kind of charitable activities through any charity that is not registered by the UAE government. This includes all charities outside the country and the simple click of the “like” button on Facebook can be deemed a criminal offence in Dubai. The Cybercrime laws render foreigners at great risk of being charged and Luisa is not the first Briton to fall afoul of these complex laws. They are a serious risk to anyone, touris