Critical Study of the Role of Sharia Public Policy in the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards in UAE

The UAE concept of public policy is still problematic in the context of the newly established arbitration framework, namely the UAE arbitration law (UFAL 2018) and The Cabinet Decision No. (57) of 2018 Concerning the UAE Civil Procedure Law (The Cabinet Decision of 2018). The UAE’s concept of public policy consists of public interest and Islamic law (Sharia). Public interest is largely driven from national laws and social, political, economic norms and values of the country, while Sharia generally derives from the interpretation and thought of the Islamic Sunni schools of jurisprudence. Public policy in the context of Sharia law raises more complex and significant challenges than those relating to public interest. The complexity is exacerbated by the fact that Sharia law is not a codified system of law, which has led to various interpretations, sometimes conflicting interpretations, of Sharia law by scholars and judges. This divergence on the interpretation of certain aspects of Sharia law relevant to the conceptualisation of public policy affects the position of courts on the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. Therefore, the aim of this research is to investigate how Sharia law manifests as a public policy ground for refusal of a foreign arbitral award within the recognition and enforcement framework of the NYC. Sharia law may appear on the face of it as an unduly heavy-handed restriction on the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards and thus, a threat to the smooth functioning of international arbitration. However, despite this complex interaction between Sharia law and international arbitration, I demonstrate for the first time in academic writing that Sharia law does harmonise with modern business practices and international arbitration. The ultimate goal of the research is to suggest executable reforms to further develop and further redefine or limit the scope of public policy under the newly established UAE arbitral framework and build on the modernisation efforts initiated through the UFAL 2018 and The Cabinet Decision of 2018