‘DIFC Courts (Overview)’ by Philip Punwar, published in Thomson Reuters Practical Law.

Part II Registered DIFC Courts Practitioner of twenty years, Philip Punwar, has been published in Thomson Reuters Practical Law, with his revised Practice Note giving an updated overview of the practice and procedure of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts.

Drawing on Philip’s extensive experience as a UAE-based practitioner and member of the DIFC Courts Rules Committee, this Practice Note provides an insightful overview of:

• The structure, jurisdiction, and procedural framework of the DIFC Courts.
• Essential preliminary considerations for litigants, such as applicable limitation periods, rules on legal representation, the framework for litigation costs under the Rules of the DIFC Courts (RDC), and third-party funding disclosure obligations.
• The process for filing and responding to a claim filed in the DIFC Courts.
• Issues related to evidence, including disclosure, legal privilege, witnesses, experts, and publicly accessible court records.
• Types of injunctions and other interim remedies available.
• Appeals and Enforcement.

To access the full article please click, here.

Reproduced from Practical Law with the permission of the publishers. For further information, visit practicallaw.com.

Find out more

Philip Punwar was called to the Bar of England & Wales by the Inner Temple in 1989. He has been a DIFC Courts Part II Registered Practitioner since 2006.

Philip is an experienced commercial dispute resolution professional with over 30 years international practice, including 20 years residence in the Gulf. He has been a Chartered Arbitrator since 2002, a CEDR Accredited Mediator since 2010 and a Bencher of the Inner Temple since 2013.

In 2007, Philip obtained the first Freezing Order issued by the DIFC Courts and in 2008 he appeared in the first appeal to the DIFC Court of Appeal. Since 2015, he has twice acted as the Supervising Legal Representative appointed by the DIFC Courts to oversee the execution of Search Orders within and without the DIFC.

To find out more about Philip, contact Lexie Johnson on + 44 (0) 207 427 0801

External Publications 27 Aug, 2026