The Dubai International Financial Court (DIFC) revised the Application Law, periodically called the Application of Civil and Commercial Laws in DIFC. The financial center also said it would amend the DIFC Real Property Law and Regulations. These include a new mortgage registration fee of 0.25% of the value of the mortgage being registered by a purchaser of real property.
Extended Registration Period
To better accommodate the schedule for off-plan property purchases, DIFC has also extended the off-plan sales registration term from the present 30-day period to 60 days, from the launch stage to the production of a final off-plan sales agreement. Thanks to the extension, off-plan unit buyers now have additional time to register these purchases and pay the freehold transfer fee. The amendment laws were enacted on November 14 and November 21, 2024.
Application Law Amendments
A new article has been added to the Application Law under the amendments. This provision, Article 8A, states that the DIFC statute and DIFC Court rulings interpreting and applying the DIFC laws must be consulted before determining DIFC law.
Common Law Integration
Then, as DIFC law is not intended to be strictly statutory, Article 8A says that the DIFC Statute is supplemented by the common law (including the principles and rules of equity). The common law of England and Wales and other common law jurisdictions may be consulted by the DIFC Courts when deciding on the common law for the DIFC.
Clarification of Court Powers
These changes clarify that the DIFC Courts, like any leading ordinary law courts, have the power to consider comparative jurisprudence from a variety of jurisdictions in developing or modifying standard law rules and principles of equity on a case-by-case basis but that they do not have broader legislative or policy-making powers.
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International Model Law Interpretation
The article confirms that the interpretation of the DIFC statute may be guided by principles developed regarding analogous laws in established common law jurisdictions. Additionally, suppose a DIFC Statute is based on an international model law. In that case, its interpretation may also be guided by international jurisprudence interpreting and applying the international model law and interpretative aids and commentary published by international bodies regarding the international model law.
The amendments are intended to ensure that both English Common Law and developments in other established common law jurisdictions remain a central feature of DIFC’s legal system.
