There is one issue in Arabian Gulf legal circles that brings the region into disrepute on an almost routine basis - enforcement.
The rest of the world believes, with some justification, legal verdicts and rulings given in courts in jurisdictions outside the Middle East will not be enforced either in the region itself, nor against major parties based in the region.
Along with the culture of "wasta", or who you know, and the perception of casual corruption, the problem of enforcement regularly appears on any list of obstacles to making the region more competitive in the globalised economy.
Put bluntly, the international community does not unconditionally accept the impartiality of Middle East legal systems.
It is an issue everywhere - but especially so in Saudi Arabia. During the three-year battle between warring factions in the Al Gosaibi dispute, it has been taken as given, even written into evidence on several occasions, that international creditor banks have virtually no chance of getting back the US$15 billion (Dh55bn) or so they are said to be owed.
While legal actions continue to seek repayment, the actions of the banks tell how they view the realistic chances of recompense: most wrote off the full amounts in their balance sheets ages ago. It is a depressing theme for those trying to do business in the region, so it is good to be able to report that one legal centre at least is taking serious and strenuous steps to tackle the problem.
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts has just completed an exhaustive study, under its new judicial clerk, Natasha Bakirci, of the current state of play in the enforcement controversy.
It is intended as a guide for legal practitioners to help them to know where they stand in relation to enforcement in the GCC, the broader Arab world and beyond, especially in the growth markets of Asia.
The guide also illustrates the progress made, at least in the UAE, on this thorny subject.
The DIFC Courts are generally regarded as the most efficient, impartial and modern legal apparatus in the region. Based on international best legal practice, with experienced judges and personnel with backgrounds in global jurisdictions, they are trusted by businesses and financial professionals as the best arena for the resolution of legal disputes as well as the enforcement of its decisions.
The issue is best understood in relation to three areas: the efficiency of enforcement of DIFC Courts judgements in Dubai, but outside the DIFC; in the UAE, but outside Dubai; and outside the UAE.
On the first, much progress has been made recently. Thanks to a new law last year, DIFC Courts' jurisdiction has been extended throughout the emirate.
This means parties at legal loggerheads can elect to have their case heard in the DIFC Courts and can be confident the eventual ruling will be accepted as binding as long as it is final and unappealable and has the status of an "execution law" as defined by the relevant protocols, and is translated into Arabic.
The Dubai courts will enforce these rulings as if they were their own. Importantly, judges cannot re-examine the merits of DIFC Courts' judgements.
In the second area, there has also been progress. Memorandums of understanding have been signed between DIFC Courts, the UAE federal Ministry of Justice, and other emirates (notably Ras Al Khaimah) to enforce DIFC judgements.
The structure needs to be further codified, but in practice the system is working well within the UAE: no DIFC Courts rulings have been challenged in Abu Dhabi or other emirates' courts.
The third area is the greyest. Enforcement is governed by a number of international treaties as well as bilateral legal deals between the UAE and countries such as France, India and China.
But other countries, for example Russia, will not recognise foreign judgements at all, while others such as Germany, Japan and some American states, require reciprocity, that is, the right to have their own rulings enforced in the UAE.
There is still much to be done to ensure trust in the region's legal systems but the DIFC Courts are the best hope for achieving this.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')
Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
THE BIO
Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old
Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai
Favourite Book: The Alchemist
Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
Favourite place to Travel to: Vienna
Favourite cuisine: Italian food
Favourite Movie : Scent of a Woman
RESULTS
Tottenham 1
Jan Vertonghen 13'
Norwich 1
Josip Drmic 78'
2-3 on penalties
The specs: 2019 Jeep Wrangler
Price, base: Dh132,000
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 285hp @ 6,400rpm
Torque: 347Nm @ 4,100rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.6L to 10.3L / 100km
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Company profile
Name: Oulo.com
Founder: Kamal Nazha
Based: Dubai
Founded: 2020
Number of employees: 5
Sector: Technology
Funding: $450,000
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Teams
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shanwari, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Corey Anderson, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Seth Rance, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The Florida Project
Director: Sean Baker
Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe
Four stars
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Fire and Fury
By Michael Wolff,
Henry Holt
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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