A Guide to the DIAC Arbitration Rules

The Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) handles approximately 200 cases per year and is the busiest commercial arbitration in the Middle East. This Guide is the first comprehensive analysis of the DIAC arbitration rules, offering practitioners practical and procedural advice, capable of direct reference and application in DIAC-administered arbitrations.

Structured in two parts, the Guide to the DIAC Arbitration Rules first provides the reader with an overview of arbitration in Dubai, particularly with regards to DIAC arbitration, then proceeds to analyse the rules article-by-article. Notably, the book includes analysis of the new DIAC Rules published in January 2018, alongside a discussion of the genesis of the new rules and DIAC's growth and development into a leading regional arbitration centre. Appendices include the Standard DIAC Arbitration Clause, the DIAC Arbitration Rules from 2007 and 2018, the Table of Fees and Costs 2007 and 2018, as well as UAE National Arbitration Law.

The book is an invaluable tool for international arbitration practitioners practicing in the UAE, across the Middle East, and arbitration practitioners based in Europe, Asia and North America who work on Middle East arbitration matters.

Dr. Faris Nasrallah specialises in international arbitration focusing on energy, commercial and construction arbitrations with specialist knowledge of UAE laws. Dr. Nasrallah serves as an arbitrator in disputes under various applicable laws and arbitral rules, with expertise in navigating hybrid civil and common law contexts. He is empanelled by the DIAC and other arbitral institutions and serves as a UAE law expert before international courts and tribunals. Dr. Nasrallah was awarded a PhD (summa cum laude) for his research at the Max Planck Institute on the relationship between theory and practice in international arbitration. He is a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England & Wales and was educated at SOAS and the University of Cambridge.

Dr. Gordon Blanke has extensive and wide-ranging experience in all types of international commercial and investment arbitration in both common- and civil law jurisdictions, having acted as advising counsel and arbitrator under most leading institutional arbitration rules and ad hoc, in arbitrations seated in the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, and in relation to various industry sectors including construction, finance, and oil and gas. Apart from serving on the DIAC roster of arbitrators, Dr. Blanke has also been appointed to the ADGM, ADCCAC, CIETAC, and CRCICA Panel of Arbitrators. Dr. Blanke is the Founding Principal of Blanke Arbitration, which operates in the UAE, London, and Paris. He was educated at the LSE, Diplomatic Academy Vienna, and the ENA. He was awarded a doctorate in law from the University of Groningen.