Doesthe“New”UAEArbitrationLaw Need to be Modified?

Abstract

In May2018,followingthecompletionofseveral drafts since 2006 in consultation with more than 60 specialists as well as discussions by the Federal National Council, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) issued a long-awaited Federal Law on Arbitration that is based mainly on the UNCITRAL Model Law. The lawmakers stressed that they aimed at drafting a “strong and thoughtful” law. Although the Law in fact has been widely welcomed and found to be most certainly worthy of the 12-year wait, this article contends that the above-mentioned aim has not been achieved based on the more than 100 defects identified in this article and recommends that the UAE legislature amend 49 of the 61 articles that comprise the Law.