Abu Dhabi

The Legal Characterization of Cryptocurrency and Contractual Authorization Protocols: Analysis of HoneyBadger Enterprises Ltd. v Bue

No tax penalties without Federal Tax Authority public clarification – rules the Dubai tax dispute resolution committee

  In various decisions issued by the (second) Tax Dispute Resolution Committee of Dubai, the Committee ordered that tax obligations that are not explicitly provided for in the legislation do not create a tax obligation on the taxpayers until a public clarification is issued by the Federal Tax Authority. Disputes Three separate disputes were heard […]

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Employee Liability for Corporate Tax Penalties: A Judicial Analysis of Dubai Court of First Instance Case No. 309 of 2025

New instruments announced by Dubai Courts to expedite and support enforcement of judgments and arbitration awards

  On 22 February 2023, Dubai unveiled a new strategic plan that is set to further advance its judicial system towards a world-class model for efficiency and service excellence. The benefits that will be derived by litigants in Dubai, especially those with high-value claims, cross-jurisdictional disputes, arbitration matters, and litigants with potentially insolvent debtors are

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BC Court of Appeal Affirms Application of Traditional Contract Law to Bitcoin Loan Agreements

UAE High Court finds ICC ADGM office subjects Abu Dhabi seated ICC arbitrations to the jurisdiction of the ADGM Courts

  Brief Two parties to a construction contract agreed that all disputes would be subject to the International Chamber of Commerce Rules of Arbitration and for the arbitration to be seated in Abu Dhabi. The arbitration award was challenged by one of the parties before the Abu Dhabi Appeals Court. The Abu Dhabi Appeals Court

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Leveraging Public Finance for Spaceports: An Analysis of Recent Amendments for Commercial Space Infrastructure Under IRC § 142

Corporate income tax disputes under the new UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 47/2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses

  The new UAE law on taxation of corporate (“Corporate Tax Law”) and business income was promulgated on 03 October 2022 and applies to tax periods commencing on or after 01 June 2023. The Corporate Tax Law does not define its own dispute procedure system. The Corporate Tax Law is subject to the Tax Procedures

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War Series: Arbitration Enforcement Amidst Sovereign Capital Controls

Dubai High Court denies enforcement of arbitration award against foreign party (Article III of the New York Convention)

  The Dubai Cassation Court, the highest tier of court litigation in the Emirate of Dubai, recently rendered judgment rejecting enforcement of an arbitration award against a foreign award debtor on the basis that the debtor does not have a domicile in the United Arab Emirates. Furthermore, the Dubai Cassation Court provided an interpretation of

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Preventing a ‘Rug Pull': Ontario Superior Court on Risk of Crypto-Asset Flight and Freezing NFTs

UAE Federal Court rules no tax penalties on payment delays caused by the tax authority

  Brief It was evidenced before the Federal Primary Court that the taxpayer had informed the Federal Tax Authority of an obstacle in the online tax filing portal that prevented the taxpayer from being able to file their tax returns. The taxpayer continuously requested resolve of the issues since early 2018 until mid-2021. The issue

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Superintendent's Certificate to Arbitration: Interpreting Liquidated Damages from a Queensland Court of Appeal

Significant judgment by Dubai Court orders payment of damages in cryptocurrency instead of fiat currency

  In a dispute over investment in Dash cryptocurrency, one of the more well-known and established altcoin cryptocurrencies, the Dubai Primary Court ordered payment to the plaintiff in Dash (as opposed to in Dirhams, US Dollars, or UK Pounds). This is one of the first cases in the UAE where the court orders compensation in

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ADGM Courts and Arbitrations Administered by the ICC ADGM Office: A Revisited Look at the Onshore/Offshore Divide in Light of Recent UAE Decisions

UAE Appeals Court invalidates cryptocurrency agreement and defines Ponzi scheme in ‘OneCoin’ transaction dispute

  In a rare judgment, the Appeals Court of Ras Al-Khaimah (UAE) applies the elements of contract formation of the Federal Civil Transactions Law to invalidate a cryptocurrency transaction – finding that the object of the agreement did not fulfill the requirements of being “possible, specified or specifiable, and negotiable”. Furthermore, the Appeals Court classified

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War Series: Trump's Tariffs and How US Businesses Can Challenge Foreign Retaliatory Tariffs Under Bilateral Investment Treaties

Dubai Court rejects Bitcoin claim lacking proof of crypto-wallet ownership (and solutions for digital asset disputes in the UAE)

  Dubai Court rejects claim of loss of 608 Bitcoins for lack of evidence of crypto-wallet ownership. Dubai Primary Court rules: “…the plaintiff had transferred the encrypted currency “Bitcoin” to the defendant…did not indicate how to prove the ownership of the account to the defendant, noting that by referring to the page shown in the

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When Crypto Claims Collide with Multiple Jurisdictions: Lessons from Coinbase

UAE Ministry of Justice confirms enforcement of English Court judgments on principle of reciprocity

  On 13 September 2022, Judge Abdul Rahman Murad Al-Blooshi, Director of International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Justice, issued a communique to His Excellency Tarish Eid Al-Mansoori, Director General of the Dubai Courts, confirming the enforcement of judgments issued by English Courts based on the principle of reciprocity. Extracts from the communique read

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