Editor's Note: The Third Seminar of the International Commercial Expert Committee of the Supreme People's Court and Reappointment Ceremony of the First Group of Expert Members was held successfully on Augest 25, 2022. Over 40 experts from more than 20 countries and regions focused on the theme of the Development, Challenges and Countermeasures of Cross-Border Commercial Disputes during the seminar. Extensive and in-depth discussions were held within the framework of four specific issues. The texts of speeches delivered by the participants would be posted on the CICC's website. 

THE LATEST DEVELOPMENT AND FRONTIER ISSUES OF THE DIFC COURT

Nour Hineidi

Registrar, DIFC Courts

Good morning/good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests. I am honoured to have been invited to join you this afternoon for this panel discussion.

Undoubtedly, the onset of the Covid pandemic has forced us all to ask profound questions regarding our business models, delivery of services or products, engagement techniques and so on. We have all been forced to conduct deep dives into how we are conducting operations and ask ourselves, honestly, if we are equipped to proceed across redrawn landscapes.

We at the DIFC Courts have certainly conducted these exercises. Does society want people to feel confident in solving their problems in a court? If so, give them access to one from their mobile phone. Let them beam into a court room and give evidence from a smart phone. But there are those that would argue that, of all the industries that are most critical in delivering open, secure societies, the legal profession has arguably been the most resistant to digital disruption.

The physical nature of traditional courtrooms has cemented their place over time as an intimidating, restricted institution that is growing increasingly unfit to solve complex and far-reaching disputes. How do you establish a court that can solve these problems? The only way is through technology. We need technology to allow parties to come together in a forum which best serves their interest in finding a solution – in other words – we need to stop making the courts a place and focus more on making it a service.

For too long courts in many jurisdictions have taken the view that they are a necessity, that citizens must use them, and, with that mind-set, many have lost sight of their role in serving the community.

Change management is a term (and an exercise) that many public and private entities were forced to embrace in 2020 and continue to tweak in subsequent years. Because of their relative youth, and thus agility, courts in MENA region have been able to successfully integrate advanced change management – whether through technology (this would prove much more difficult in well-established commercial courts in other regions), or through human resource management.

Expectations from the private sector increasingly require the bold engagement of public service. The DIFC Courts' ambition, through continued outreach to global judicial systems, is to contribute to creating a level-playing field between businesses, by re-inventing the way commercial justice is designed and delivered.

In an era of significant disruption, companies are investing massively in emerging technologies to stay ahead of the curve. Instant access to information has perhaps had the biggest influence on the way businesses run their operations, particularly within the legal sector where hordes of data need to be easily available.

The DIFC Courts, like an increasing number of our peers around the world, understand that fast, efficient and professional service can make a real difference to outcomes and achieving court excellence.

Innovation is where the DIFC Courts has given particular attention since its inception in 2004, identifying technological innovation as a key driver to commercial dispute resolution. With innovation one of our four key drivers, investment in technology was arguably the catalyst that enabled the DIFC Courts to go from a start-up court over a decade ago, to one of the world's leading English-language commercial courts.

Among the many technologies the courts have pioneered to increase access to justice, is the region's first e-Registry is 2009, the region's first digitally integrated courtroom, and re-engineered state-of-the-art e-Court Management System (CMS) in 2016, as well as the region's first 'paperless' e-bundling solution in 2018.

These early tech adoptions are now the bedrock that fortunately enabled, especially at the onset of the pandemic, to maintain, without disruption, all services during this pandemic and to implement change management protocols with minimal time loss and disruption.

Undoubtedly, 2020 was a year that tested the resilience of every government service, private sector business, and individual. It was a year that forced everyone to re-shift focus; to reprioritise, and, to adapt to rapid changes.

Given the extraordinary circumstances that have emerged, all core services of the DIFC Courts have been fully maintained, whilst remaining true to our core values and dedication of public service.

In this regard, the unwavering support of all the employees of the DIFC Courts must be acknowledged, with the Registry personnel and our IT Department demonstrating exceptional flexibility and dedication.

Our long-established digital infrastructure not only preserved all services to court users over the past number of years, but also propelled the DIFC Courts to enhance operational efficiency in managing the substantial increase in claims, assisting businesses to resolve their disputes.

To best support the rise in cases filed at the DIFC Courts, we matched our innovation transformation with a simultaneous reinforcement of our bench, with additional prominent international expertise, as well as recruiting the next generation of Emirati judges with trans-systemic expertise across civil and common law.

On a practical level, how did we leverage change management techniques and tools to make change more positive, purposeful, collaborative, and successful? We were very quick to roll out immediate changes in March 2020, which are still in use today.

Firstly, we made a commitment to maintain longstanding practices and protocols:

▶Implementation and certification of ISO Quality Management and ISO27001:2013 Information Security Management Systems

▶ Internal audits – since 2018 periodic planning and internal audits have been implemented to observe the high, medium and low risks to the organization

▶ International Framework for Courts Excellence (IFCE) implementations across seven (7)areas of courts excellence:

•  Courts leadership & planning

• Courts planning & policies

• Courts resources (human, material and financial)

• Courts proceedings & processes

• Court users' needs & satisfaction

• Affordable & accessible court services

• Public trust & confidence.

  
  

Secondly, on March 17, 2020, we announced full operational capacity across all services, utilizing its digital infrastructure (whilst we closed the doors of the Courts until June 2020):

▶ Enquiries, complaints, customer service

▶ Filing of documents

▶ Service of process

▶ Case progression

▶ Filing of bundles

▶ Hearings

▶ Circulation & Issuing of Orders/Judgments

▶ Registration of Practitioners

By increasing utilization of our existing videoconferencing and teleconferencing facilities for applications and hearings, we are enabling court users and the public to access extensive e-Services remotely from any Smartphone, tablet, or desktop devices.

Staffs were requested to immediately begin work-from-home (which is now a permanent offering for staff).

By 2021, almost 100% of hearings were conducted remotely through digital platforms; court user shave greater choice and flexibility across core service offerings, ensuring more expedient access to justice.

The rapid transition to fully digital remote hearings also aligns the DIFC Courts with the directive issued in June 2021 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, with the Ministry of Justice instructed to hold 80% of litigation sessions virtually on a permanent basis before the end of 2021.

We continued with further changes and innovation; we became the first court in the UAE to acquire the qualified electronic seal solution Ethaq, a paperless initiative that enables digital authenticity of documents with the support of UAE PASS, the secure national digital identity platform for the United Arab Emirates.

Ethaq certificate is powered by Dubai Electronic Security Center (DESC). It recognizes the DIFC Courts as the first Dubai entity to acquire the entirely paperless certificate that enables court documents to be electronically signed, issued, and authenticated, providing an end-to- solution that combines both an electronic seal and an electronic signature solution based on digitally verifiable identities.

The electronic seal Ethaq will also reinforce the security and integrity of the documentation and eradicates tampering of official documents, enabling users to digitally verify the authenticity of any legal documents through the DIFC Courts website.

In recent years the DIFC Courts has also introduced several initiatives aimed at alleviating costs for court users, including the suspension of all fees related to the e-Bundling service. In addition, applicants filing a claim at the Small Claims Tribunal (SCT) may also request a fee suspension. This facility enables eligible applicants the flexibility of paying the courts' fees after the SCT case has concluded.

We continue our mission to generate the best from litigation, arbitration, and mediation to provide a new, more modern set of procedures for resolving disputes. The DIFC Courts has led with the necessity to develop not just an institution to hear cases, but also to contribute to the style and manner in which the court user journey is synthesized. Our dedication to enhancing the user experience is strengthened by adopting smart technologies, automated processes, and state-of-the-art courtroom communications equipment. This has also played a key role in supporting the increasing international caseload.

Statistics confirm that the DIFC Courts is not only maintaining all services, but is simultaneously increasing operational efficiency, substantially increasing digital Orders & Judgments. The DIFC Courts also confirmed its status as the first paperless Court in the region in 2021, with 100% of internal processes and customer-facing services now operating fully digital.

With all this technological implementation, we haven't stopped there. But where next? What should we as Courts be focusing on for the future? We continue to look forward, seeking out new technology to further increase access to our services for the public.

The Courts of the Future was launched by the DIFC Courts and the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF)in 2017 with a mandate to explore diverse legal tech topic areas and to provide research and thought leadership on promoting and encouraging contemporary methods of greater accessibility and efficiency to court users across the globe.

This think tank has enabled the DIFC Courts to streamline its major legal tech. projects under the Courts of the Future, pooling talent and resources from global partners and experts across the fields of law, technology, IT and business, assembled to help legal systems accommodate the accelerating growth of technology.

This new era of legal technological disruption, working to replace outdated processes with digital technology is the key to creating real legal efficiency and certainty for businesses, even during these uncertain time.

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*The original text is Chinese and has been translated into English for reference only. If there is any inconsistency or ambiguity between the Chinese version and the English version, the Chinese version shall prevail.