Dubai's International Financial Court (DIFC) has made amendments to its Application Law, also known as the Application of Civil and Commercial Laws in DIFC. The financial center has also announced changes to the DIFC Real Property Law and Real Property Regulations, including a new mortgage registration fee of 0.25 percent of the mortgage value.
Additionally, the registration period for off-plan sales has been extended from 30 days to 60 days, giving buyers more time to register transactions and pay the freehold transfer fee. These amendments were enacted on November 14, 2024, and took effect on November 21, 2024.
Under the revised Application Law, a new Article 8A has been introduced. This article stipulates that DIFC Law is primarily determined by DIFC statute and DIFC Court judgments interpreting and applying DIFC statute. Since DIFC law is not strictly statutory, Article 8A also states that DIFC Statute is supplemented by common law, including principles and rules of equity.
The DIFC Courts, in determining common law for DIFC, may refer to the common law of England and Wales and other common law jurisdictions. These changes clarify that the DIFC Courts can consider comparative jurisprudence from various jurisdictions when developing or modifying common law rules and equity principles on a case-by-case basis, but they do not have broader legislative or policymaking powers.
The article confirms that the interpretation of DIFC statute may be guided by principles developed for analogous laws in established common law jurisdictions. If a DIFC Statute is based on an international model law, its interpretation may also be guided by international jurisprudence and commentary from international bodies.
These amendments aim to ensure that both English Common Law and developments in other established common law jurisdictions continue to be central to DIFC's legal system.
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