Originally from World Arbitration Reporter (WAR) - 2nd Edition

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I.  BASIC INFORMATION 

A. History and Background of the Institution

The Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre (the “Centre”) was launched in response to the region’s growing maritime activity and the UAE’s ambitions to develop in to the world’s largest maritime hub in the world by 2025.  It was established to close the time zone and location gap between London and the Far East by establishing a centre in the UAE and fill the immediate need for a specialized maritime arbitration centre in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

The Centre was established in 2016 pursuant to Decree No. 14 of 2016 signed by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai (Decree). In the UAE, decrees are passed by the government and signed by the Ruler of the Emirate to give legal effect. The Decree gives standing to the establishment of the Centre.  The Centre is based out of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) a financial free zone hub and has a separate legal identity as well as being financially and administratively independent.

The Centre is the first specialised maritime arbitration centre to be established in the MENA region. It works with organisations in the region by providing services for resolving international and domestic maritime disputes through arbitration, mediation and other dispute resolution processes.

The Centre has its own set of arbitration and mediation rules based on the latest UNCITRAL Rules 2010 with the addition of emergency and fast track arbitration for small claims. The Rules of the Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre (Rules), came into effect on 23 June 2016.

The Centre is run by a Board of Trustees, an Executive Committee and a Secretary General. The authority and scope of each is set out in the Decree and/ or the Rules. The current acting chairman and secretary general of the Centre is Majid Obaid bin Bashir.